SEP  -^'2006 


THE 


OCT  2    1920 


EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  TO  THE  ROMANS; 


WITH 


A    COMMENTAEY 


AND    REVISED    TRANSLATION, 


AND  INTRODUCTORY  ESSAYS, 


ARIEL    ABBOT    LIVERMORE. 


BOSTON: 
CROSBY,    NICHOLS,    AND     COMPANY. 

NEW    YORK: 

CHARLES    S.   FRANCIS    AND    COMPANY 

185  4. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1854,  by 

Abiel    Abbot    Liveemoke, 

in  tlie  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


CAMBRIDGE: 
METCALF  AND   COMPANY,   STEREOTYPERS   AND   PRINTERS. 


TO  THE 

LIBEKAL  CHRISTIANS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

THE 

CHURCH  OF  THE  FUTURE, 
VARIOUS  BODIES,  BUT  ONE  SOUL, 

THIS 
ATTEMPT   TO   EXPLAIM    AN   EPISTLE,    "HARD   TO   BE   UNDERSTOOD," 

IS 

AFFECTIONATELY  AND  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED 

BY 

THE  AUTHOR. 


CONTENTS* 


ESSAY  I. 


PAGE 
THE   BIBLE,   INSPIRED   AND    INSPIEING 1 


ESSAY  n. 

THE   EPISTLES   OF   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT 29 

ESSAY  m. 

THE   APOSTLE   PAUL 42 

ESSAY  IV. 

THE   EPISTLE   OF   PAUL   TO   THE   ROMANS 71 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  TO  THE  RODMANS. 

Chapter  I. 
The  Salutation,  Introduction,  and  a  Description  of  the  "Wickedness  of  the 
Gentiles 81 

Chapter  II. 
The  Impartiality  and  Equity  of  the  Divine  Government,  both  to  Jews  and 
Gentiles 99 

Chapter  III. 
A  Description  of  the  Wickedness  of  the  Jews,  as  well  as  of  the  Gentiles,  and 
the  Insufficiency  of  the  Law,  unless  it  were  fulfilled  by  the  Righteousness 
of  Faith 109 


VI  CONTENTS. 


Chapter  IV. 

The  Promise  confirmed  to  Abraham,  on  the  Ground,  not  of  the  Eighteous-         jti 
ness  of  the  Law,  but  the  Righteousness  of  Faith 116 

Chapter  V. 
The  Effects  of  the  Righteousness  of  Faith  on  the  Character,  and  its  Results 
in  the  World,  by  establishing  a  new  Spiritual  Human  Race  with  Christ  at 
the  Head,  corresponding  to  the  Natural  Human  Race  with  Adam  at  the 
Head 122 

Chapter  VL 
The  Doctrines  of  Emancipation  from  Sin,  and  Sanctification  of  Heart  and 
Life 128 

Chapter  VII. 
The  Cessation  of  the  Law  on  Account  of  its  Inability  to  meet  all  the  Spirit- 
ual Wants  of  Man 135 

Chapter  VIII. 
The  Adaptation  of  the  Gospel  to  all  the  Offices  of  a  Perfect  Religion  for  the 
Human  Soul 144 

Chapter  IX. 

The  Divine  Sovereignty  in  the  Rejection  of  the  Jews  and  the  Choice  of  the 
Gentiles  defended  on  Historical  Inferences  from  the  Old  Testament  .        .157 

Chapter  X. 
The  Righteousness  of  Faith  in  Jesus  Christ  required  of  both  the  Jews  and 
the  Gentiles "     .  169 

Chapter  XL 

The  Calling  of  the  Gentiles  was  to  redound,  not  to  the  Injury,  but  the  Final 
Redemption,  of  Israel  itself 177 

Chapter  XII. 
The  General  Practical  Duties  of  Christianity  to  God  and  our  Fellow-men    .  188 

Chapter  XIII. 
Duties  to  the  State,  and  the  Generalization  of  all  Precepts  in  Love       .        .197 


CONTENTS.  Vli 

Chapter  XIV. 

Che  Special  Duties  of  Christians  in  the  INIidst  of  Heathen  Communities       .  206 

Chapter  XV. 

Che  same  Subject  continued ;  and  the  Success  of  Paul's  Ministry  among  the 
Gentiles  as  being  blessed  by  God 215 

Chapter  XVI. 
friendly  Salutations  and  Messages  to  the   Christians  at  Eome  from  Paul 
and  his  Bretlu-en  at  Corinth. — Benediction  and  Doxology        .        .        .224 


k    REVISED    TRAI^rSLATION    OF    THE    EPISTLE    TO    THE 
ROMANS 231 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAYS. 


E  S  S  A  Y    I. 

THE  BIBLE,   INSPIRED  AND  INSPIRING. 

The  question  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Hebrew  and  Chris- 
tian Scriptures  is  one  of  those  great  moral  problems,  which 
never  are,  but  always  are  to  be,  solved.  It  was  discussed  in 
the  earliest,  and  probably  will  be  in  the  latest  ages.  For  it 
is  in  part  an  historical  inquiry,  and  different  principles  of 
historical  judgment  will  lead  to  different  conclusions.  It  is 
an  intellectual  and  spiritual  question,  and  therefore  all  the 
complexities  of  mental  culture  and  moral  character  wiU 
come  into  play,  and  determine  each  person  to  his  result. 
But  perchance  new  words  will  not  be  thrown  away  on  such 
a  rich  and  sublime  theme,  pertaining  to  the  point  where  the 
mind  of  God  has  connected  itself  with  the  mind  of  man. 
To-day,  as  in  the  morning  prime  of  the  Church,  when 
learned  fathers  mused  and  wrote,  the  fresh  dew  rests  upon 
it,  and  glistens  bright  to  heaven.  Ever  new,  as  ever  old, 
the  march  of  human  affairs,  the  novel  experiences  of  the 
race,  the  arrival  of  new  geniuses,  and  the  successive  crises 
of  Christianity,  cannot  drain  dry  of  interest  to  every  consci- 
entious mind  the  magnificent  question. 

Man  still  asks,  and  will  for  ever  ask,  as  if  it  were  too  good 
news  to  be  true,  Has  the  Infinite  Intelligence  in  any  sense 
spoken  ?  Is  there  a  Word  of  God  ?  Is  there  a  whisper  ©f 
1 


^  THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING. 

the  Eternal  Wisdom,  a  breath  of  the  All-brooding  Love  ? 
And  if  there  is,  is  it  worthy  of  its  amazing  origin,  and  fit 
for  its  glorious  mission  ?  Have  the  serene  heavens  articu- 
lated to  the  ear  of  the  laboring  Earth  then  lofty  truths,  and 
explained  her  dark  secret  ?  Has  this  little  globe,  where 
man  sins  in  haste  and  repents  at  leisure,  in  all  its  revolutions 
through  boundless  space,  ever  grazed  on  the  golden  shores 
of  immortality  ?  Or,  has  no  other  light  ever  fallen  from  the 
sky  but  that  of  sun,  moon,  and  stars  ;  no  other  voice  spoken 
in  the  great  silence  above  than  that  of  the  deep-toned  thun- 
der ;  and  no  other  spirit  stirred  in  the  bosom  of  man  than 
his  own  restless  heart  ?  The  ear  of  Mercy  suffers  not  the 
cry  of  the  young  ravens  to  go  unheard ;  has  it  not  caught 
as  faithfully  "  the  still,  sad  music  of  humanity,"  and  vibrat- 
ed with  answering  compassion  ?  In  reply  to  such  interro- 
gations, we  answer,  in  the  first  place,  generally.  Yes ;  there 
is  a  Word  of  God,  more  articulate  than  the  lessons  of  the 
creation;  the  Highest  has  spoken,  not  with  the  accents 
of  a  mortal  tongue,  but  by  the  revelation  of  wisdom  and 
love,  less  clearly  unfolded  in  the  law  by  Moses,  but  shin- 
ing forth  in  full  effulgence  in  the  grace  and  truth  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

But  as  soon  as  we  advance  beyond  this  general  propo- 
sition, we  alight  upon  a  hotly  contested  arena  of  theological 
warfare,  where  several  theories  find  their  several  champions. 
First,  we  have  the  doctrine  of  the  plenary  verbal  inspiration 
of  the  Scriptures,  or  of  the  major  part  of  them,  and  gener- 
ally held  by  the  Trinitarian  churches.  According  to  this 
view,  the  sacred  writers  were  amanuenses  to  the  Holy 
Ghost,  to  record  whatever  was  dictated  to  them,  word  by 
word,  and  sentence  by  sentence.  The  New  Churchy  or 
Swedenborgians,  hold  a  similar  theory,  modified  by  the 
doctrine  of  an  internal  sense,  and  correspondences,  and  also 
by  the  rejection  of  the  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 


THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING.  d 

ment,  and  the  Epistles  of  the  New,  as  uncanonical.  The 
Roman  Church  adheres  to  a  literal  and  infallible  inspiration 
of  the  books  of  the  Bible  ;  but  then  the  truth  thus  conveyed 
is  only  to  be  administered  in  homoeopathic  doses  to  the  mass 
of  mankind,  as  they  are  able  to  bear  it,  under  the  lock  and 
key  of  St.  Peter,  and  his  unerring  successors  in  the  papal 
chair.  The  belief  in  natural  inspiration,  —  the  inspiration 
of  truth  and  love  given  to  every  man,  the  light  that  lighteth 
every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world,  but  given  to  some 
more  than  others,  shining  more  clearly  in  Moses  and  in 
Christ,  in  David  and  Paul,  than  in  others,  but  shining  also 
in  Socrates  and  Seneca,  —  this  belief  is  extensively  dif- 
fused in  Germany,  and  has  strong  advocates  in  England 
and  Arnerica.  By  this  rule  all  inspiration  is  of  one  and  the 
same  kind,  and  differs  only  in  degree.  But  the  doctrine  we 
prefer  is  what  may  be  called  a  moral  inspiration ;  special, 
miraculous,  supemsituYol,  but  not  wwnatural ;  above  reason, 
but  not  irrational ;  a  spiritual  even  more  than  an  intellectual 
afflatus,  vouchsafed  in  different  degrees  according  to  the 
age  and  its  wants,  from  the  baptism  of  the  cloud  to  that  of 
water,  and  thence  to  that  of  fire  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
dove  and  the  cloven  tongues.  But  according  to  this  view, 
the  Bible  itself  is  not  the  identical  inspiration,  but  a  record 
of  inspirations ;  a  history,  a  monument,  of  that  golden 
age,  when  the  blind  Earth,  after  all  her  far,  solemn  voy- 
agings  around  the  universe,  put  as  it  were  into  port,  saw 
a  vision  of  angels  from  the  heavenly  hills,  and  heard  as 
the  mighty  sound  of  many  waters  the  voice  of  her  Sov- 
ereign. 

We  would  remark,  before  commencing  the  argument  in 
favor  of  any  one  of  these  theories,  that  this  multifarious 
state  of  the  question  does  not  stagger  our  faith  in  the  spe- 
ciality of  inspiration,  and  its  uncounted  value  to  mankind. 
For  all  great  spiritual  subjects  must  lie,  from  the  nature  of 


4  THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING. 

the  case,  in  indefinite  and  wavering  outlines  upon  the  gen- 
eral mind.  Some  will  draw  the  circle  here,  others  there. 
God,  Jesus  Christ,  the  soul,  duty,  truth,  immortality,  are  all 
subject  to  this  imperfect  conception,  and  conflicting  realiza- 
tion, and  degrees  of  faith.  Some  ask.  What  precisely  is  in- 
spiration ?  How  much  of  it  is  in  the  Scriptures,  or  in  par- 
ticular books  ?  What  is  the  exact  limit  where  the  natural 
ceases,  and  the  supernatural  begins  ?  We  cannot  tell  any 
more  than  we  can  say  exactly  what  reason,  what  genius,  is. 
These  points  are  in  litigation  as  well  as  that  of  inspiration. 
One  man  says,  genius  is  self-excitement ;  another,  that  it  is 
the  power  of  lighting  its  own  fire  ;  another,  that  it  is  tran- 
scendental intuition  ;  and  yet  another,  that  genius  is  study ; 
it  is  that  in  the  mind  which  studies.  But  these  various 
definitions  cannot  destroy  our  faith  in  the  gift  of  God  called 
genius,  however  hard  it  may  be  to  define  it.  The  doctrine 
of  inspiration,  or  of  supernatural  genius,  like  the  rest  of  its 
class,  is  neither  definable,  nor  demonstrable  by  a  multipli- 
cation, but  by  a  moral,  table. 

Some  one  has  said,  that  many  men  are  convinced,  but 
few  are  persuaded ;  the  one  being  more  exclusively  a  men- 
tal, and  the  other  a  combined  mental  and  moral  state.  The 
fact  of  inspiration  is  based  on  impregnable  intellectual 
grounds,  but  full  justice  is  not  done  to  it,  until  it  makes  its 
appeal  to  the  deep  spiritual  experiences  and  moral  senti- 
ments of  our  being.  "  Spiritual  things  are  spiritually  dis- 
cerned." "  In  his  light  we  see  light."  "  He  that  doeth  his 
will  shall  know  of  the  doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God,"  or 
not.  It  is  all  the  better,  not  the  weaker,  for  this  class  of 
truths,  that  they  cannot  be  decided  by  Euclid  and  the  black- 
board, but  address  the  whole  living  man  through  the  entire 
range  of  his  faculties,  and  put  to  the  test  every  drop  of  his 
manhood,  be  it  in  head,  or  heart,  or  hand.  Give  us,  we  say, 
these  moral   questions,  which  inclose  in    theiJ  discussion 


THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING.  5 

education,  character,  life,  conscience,  as  well  as  bold  thought ; 
for  their  agitation  does  us  more  good  than  other  questions 
can  by  their  settlement.  Welcome  the  themes  that  over- 
come us  with  a  new  emotion,  break  the  rusty  chains  of 
monotony,  and  lead  us  up  to  a  mount  of  mystic  Transfigu- 
ration. "With  human  beings  in  every  conceivable  attitude 
toward  the  Infinite  and  Eternal,  from  defiant  rebellion  to 
adoring  trust,  how  should  any  rigid  uniformity  of  belief  as 
to  the  nature,  quantity,  or  mode  of  that  aid  by  which  God 
assists  his  striving  children  be  possible  ?  That  must  be  a 
poor  and  small,  not  a  wellnigh  boundless  question,  which 
can  be  solved  with  absolute  certainty,  can  be  put  into  the 
scales  and  weighed  with  a  pound  of  tea,  or  set  down  upon 
the  slate  and  worked  out  by  the  rule  of  three.  We  make 
these  remarks  because  the  tendency  of  our  material  times  is 
to  be  impatient  of  moral  uncertainties  and  contingencies, 
and  to  call  nothing  true  which  cannot  be  proved,  and  noth- 
ing good  which  will  not  pay.  Better  the  reign  of  the 
Schoolmen  again,  than  that  our  vast  and  varied  being  should 
be  shrivelled  up  to  the  materialism  of  business,  or  to  the 
mere  mechanics  and  mathematics  of  science.  The  ele- 
ments which  enter  into  this  single  question  of  inspiration 
are  subject  to  the  laws  of  two  worlds.  Both  poles  look  to- 
wards an  infinitude  ;  one  on  the  side  of  immortal  man,  and 
the  other  on  the  side  of  the  Eternal  God. 

Then,  again,  in  their  use  as  well  as  their  nature,  it  is  all 
the  better  that  moral  problems,  such  as  the  one  under  con- 
sideration, do  not,  like  the  forty-fifth  proposition,  annihilate 
choice,  and  extort  assent.  That  cannot  be  the  greatest  of 
questions  which  can  be  settled  in  this  world.  The  Supreme 
Intelligence  has  not  with  his  revelations  sought  to  override 
the  soul's  birthright  of  freedom,  but  has  tenderly  respected 
the  fearful  play  of  the  human  will,  as  a  privilege  incalcula- 
bly dear  and  valuable.     Inspiration  does  not  become  dem- 


6  THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING. 

onstration  or  infallibility.  But  the  Church  of  Rome,  for 
example,  misunderstands  human  nature  as  much  as  she 
transcends  her  own  sacred  office,  when  she  padlocks  the 
mouth  of  discussion,  and  excommunicates  all  who  do  not 
bow  in  compliance  with  her  own  assumed  exemption  from 
error.  She,  a  mortal  Church,  undertakes  to  do  that  which 
the  Eternal  One  himself  forbore  to  do  out  of  his  regard  to 
man's  moral  freedom.  But  by  inflicting  a  mortal  wound 
upon  reason,  she  has  sentenced  not  man  alone,  but  herself, 
to  irrationality.  She  decrees  that  science,  literature,  and 
theology  shall  not  move  in  this  moving  universe,  and  the 
retribution  is  sure  as  doom,  that  she  herself  shall  be  tied  to 
the  dead  past,  and  die  with  it.  Other  bodies  of  Christians 
have  sought  to  establish  the  same  eternity  for  their  frag- 
mentary ism,  and  to  shut  the  doors  on  all  progress.  But 
not  in  such  wise  has  the  wisdom  from  above  been  given  to 
the  family  of  man.  The  Infinite  does  not  descend  in  fire 
from  heaven  to  consume  with  his  brightness  the  finite. 
The  truths  of  inspiration  are  not  refrigerators  and  silencers, 
but  awakeners,  of  the  intellect  and  the  heart.  Nothing  is 
fixed,  nothing  final ;  ends  become  means,  conclusions  prem- 
ises, to  lead  on  and  up  to  higher  ends  and  nobler  results, 
to  God,  to  immortality,  to  the  eternity  of  eternities.  Hence, 
though  above  man  so  high,  the  Inspired  One  respects  him, 
and  teaches  him  to  respect  himself:  "I  speak  as  to  wise 
men,  judge  ye  what  I  say ;  why  even  of  yourselves  judge 
ye  not  what  is  right  ?  "  The  Scriptures  are  so  wonderfully 
given,  as  to  be  an  unfailing  fount  of  wisdom,  and  yet  they 
do  not  play  the  tyrant  over  the  nature  they  were  commis- 
sioned to  redeem.  Thus  the  Infinite  gives,  thus  the  finite 
receives  in  kind,  wisdom,  truth,  love  without  end.  Virtue 
under  this  system  is  no  chain,  but  a  deliverence  from  all 
chains,  —  perfect  freedom,  perfect  joy.  While  every  Chris- 
tian must  say  with  the  deepest  humility,  "  By  the  grace  of 


THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING.  7 

God  I  am  what  I  am  "  ;  he  will  equally  recognize  that  other 
hemisphere  of  truth,  "  Ask  and  it  shall  be  given  you,  seek 
and  ye  shall  find."  For  the  Most  High  has  delegated  to  his 
child  the  awful  trust  to  some  extent  of  self-creation,  with 
its  tremendous  risks  and  its  superlative  happiness. 

We  would  not  dogmatize,  then,  on  the  subject  of  inspira- 
tion, or  say  that  our  theory  is  the  only  one  consistent  with 
the  best  influence  of  the  Scriptures  upon  the  inner  and  outer 
life,  for  we  do  not  believe  that  the  Great  God  has  narrowed 
to  such  confines  the  flowing  streams  of  his  spirit.  Upon 
whom  doth  not  his  light  arise?  Nevertheless,  while  we 
would  not  dogmatize,  we  are  entirely  and  earnestly  per- 
suaded that  wrong  notions  of  the  nature,  extent,  and  method 
of  divine  aid  blight  with  a  killing  mildew  many  of  the  fair 
blossoms  of  Gospel  promise.  For  the  exact  fact,  reality 
truth,  is  always  a  million  times  better  than  any  error,  how- 
ever moderate,  or  seemingly  innocent.  The  distance  be- 
tween error  and  truth  cannot  be  measured  by  any  arithmetic 
of  ours.  Terrible  evils  in  the  long  range  of  the  future  may 
be  coiled  up  in  the  serpent  eggs  of  some  insignificant  fal- 
sities of  to-day.  Good  Christians  do  verily  grow  towards 
perfection  under  every  variety  of  spiritual  cultivation  ;  but 
then  the  proposition  stands  for  ever  that  the  best  method  is 
the  best,  and  that  it  is  to  be  sought  with  the  whole  heart, 
soul,  mind,  and  strength,  as  we  love  our  Maker. 

But  one  of  the  most  common  and  fatal  sources  of  error 
in  regard  to  inspiration,  as  to  all  spiritual  matters,  is  the  in- 
clination to  run  to  extremes  in  opinion,  and  in  no  country 
more  than  America  has  this  tendency  been  accelerated  by 
the  surrounding  forces  of  society.  It  is  an  age  of  haste. 
We  precipitate  ourselves  with  the  momentum  of  gravitation 
on  whatever  we  undertake,  and  apply  our  minds  to  moral 
and  political  subjects  as  fiercely  as  our  axes  to  the  ancient 
forests.     Americans  like  strong  doctrines  and  strong  laws. 


8 


THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING. 


The  medium,  which  Horace  pronounced  most  safe,^  is  too 
tame  for  their  exasperated  genius.  The  law  of  extras  and 
ultras  is  in  the  ascendant.  Hence,  remarkable  results  fol- 
low. They  whet  the  five  points  of  Calvin  to  their  utmost 
sharpness,  or  break  them  off  altogether.  They  raise  the 
revival  system  to  a  white  heat,  and  glory  in  putting  their 
converts  through  quick.  One  distinguished  divine  declares 
Christianity  to  be  a  failure,  and  another  alleviates  the  irra- 
tional dogma  of  original  sin  by  the  supposition  of  a  pre- 
existent  state.  Hell  has  been  stormed  and  carried  by  assault 
by  one  denomination,  and  -the  Devil  himself  unceremoni- 
ously reduced  to  a  nonentity.  Extreme  individualism  is 
crumbling  up  already  broken  sects  into  still  smaller  frag- 
ments, as  if  division  were  the  only  fundamental  rule.  Fa- 
naticism knows  no  stop  until  it  invents  a  new  style  of  Ma- 
hometanism,  and  plants  a  new  Mecca  for  the  faithful  in  the 
valley  of  Utah.  Rationalism  drives  on  full  tilt  until  it  lands 
on  the  cloud  banks  of  Pantheism.  "  That  bourne  whence 
no  traveller  returns "  is  now  visited  twenty  times  of  an 
evening,  and  a  railroad  is  not  more  thronged  with  comers 
and  goers.  The  truth  is,  our  young  blood  boils  too  hotly 
in  the  veins  to  give  us  the  grace  of  strong,  serene  life.  We 
are  eager,  rush-  headlong,  go  the  whole,  do  not  discriminate, 
and  prefer  smart,  brilliant  paradoxes  to  sound,  moderate 
truths  that  are  not  startling.  Nowhere  on  the  planet  does 
the  moral  pendulum  oscillate  with  a  wider  sweep  from  side 
to  side,  because  nowhere  else  are  the  faculties  of  the  whole 
man  mustered,  as  here,  to  the  conflicts  of  politics,  morals, 
science,  and  theology.  These  extravaganzas  are  more  hope- 
ful than  harmful,  for  they  show  that  the  dead  and  buried 
souls  of  men  have  heard  "  the  trump  of  resurrection  "  ;  and 
though  they  stagger  awhile  in  their  grave-clothes,  as  did 
Lazarus  at  the  broken  tomb,  they  shall  soon  hear  a  com- 
manding voice  of  the  Master,  "  Loose  them ;  let  them  go." 


THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING.  9 

To  apply  these  remarks  to  the  matter  before  us;  —  we 
are  satisfied,  from  the  best  inquiry  and  observation  we  can 
make,  that  a  large  number  of  persons  of  education  and  in- 
telligence are  out-and-out  rationalists.  The  exaggerated 
statement  of  a  writer  in  a  late  number  of  that  very  able  re- 
ligious newspaper,  the  New  York  Independent,  is  that  four 
fifths  of  the  young  men  of  our  country,  who  have  so  many 
lectures  written  for  their  special  behoof,  are  sceptically  in- 
clined. We  would  qualify  this  by  saying,  that  we  are  not 
hastily  to  infer  that  these  times  are  more  irreligious  than 
others,  for  religion  may  be  manifested  now  in  new  forms. 
But  for  all  that,  disbelief  in  some  quarters  has  become  a 
fashion  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Evangelical  churches, 
as  they  exclusively  term  themselves,  are  insisting  in  their 
books  and  tracts,  with  even  stronger  emphasis,  on  the  ex- 
treme views  of  a  verbal  and  plenary  inspiration,  as  if  alarmed 
at  the  daring  invasions  of  human  reason.  But  a  split  must 
come  erelong  even  among  them,  and  already  the  charges  of 
heresy  are  hurled  as  ready  missiles  from  the  lofty  battle- 
ments of  more  than  one  of  their  seats  of  learning  at  some 
peccant  man  or  school.  But  it  is  a  peculiarity  of  evil,  that 
it  cannot  be  overcome  by  evil ;  only  good  is  a  champion 
equal  to  that  encounter.  We  would  modestly  propose  to 
act  as  mediators  between  the  extreme  right  and  the  extreme 
left,  and  with  our  Unitarian  views  point  out  what  we  regard 
as  a  more  excellent  way.  We  would  show  the  rationalist, 
that  the  highest  act  of  human  reason  is  to  discern  and  re- 
ceive the  lessons  of  the  Divine  Reason,  and  that  his  theory 
makes  revelation  an  even  greater  wonder  than  it  was  before 
with  the  doctrine  of  miracles.  We  have  not  credulity 
enough  to  believe  in  his  view,  as  he  says  he  has  not  enough 
to  believe  in  ours.  On  the  other  side,  we  would  show  the 
advocates  of  a  verbal  dictation,  that,  so  far  as  the  supposed 
advantages  of  such  a  process  are  concerned,  a  miracle  would 


10  THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING. 

still  be  necessary  in  every  case  to  guard  each  mind  from 
error  in  perusing  the  book  thus  written ;  for  the  difficulties 
of  language,  translation,  various  education  and  spirituality, 
still  intervene,  and  shatter  their  perfect  white  light  of  truth 
into  the  sevenfold  dyes  of  the  rainbow.  The  subject  must 
be  insured  against  error,  as  well  as  the  object  rendered  im- 
maculate, else  their  case  is  not  made  out.  But  the  discrep- 
ancies of  testimony  confirm  the  honesty  of  the  witnesses, 
the  varieties  of  intellectual  and  moral  power  charm  us  as  in 
a  work  of  genius,  and  the  age-long  language  and  world-wide 
character  of  the  book  set  it  heaven-high  above  the  range  of 
suspicion  that  it  was  the  work  of  a  clique  or  the  project  ol 
a  conspiracy.  This  theory  confounds  all  simplicity,  and 
destroys  all  progress.  It  makes  the  Old  Testament  as  good 
as  the  New,  and  sets  the  Gospels  on  the  same  level  with 
the  Epistle  of  Jude  or  the  Book  of  Revelation. 

But  such  is  the  craving  for  excitement,  the  appetite  for 
bold,  extreme  views,  that  the  moderate  man  is  charged  with 
want  of  moral  courage.  Because  a  man  does  not  startle 
the  world  with  turning  Romanist  on  one  side,  or  Pantheist 
on  the  other,  it  is  gravely  suggested  that  he  is  deficient  in 
independence.  Strong,  piquant  statements  fascinate  the 
world,  though  the  truth  may  be  crucified  between  them. 
The  main  aspect  of  religious  controversies  is,  that  both  par- 
ties are  so  wide  of  the  mark,  that  you  care  little  who  suc- 
ceeds. It  is  the  potsherds  of  the  earth,  grinding  one  against 
another ;  —  let  them  grind.  How  faintly  do  we  as  yet  see 
that  the  truth,  the  truth,  winnow  it  clean  as  we  can  from 
the  chaff"  of  corruptions,  is  aU-important,  and  infinitely  valu- 
able, and  worthy  of  a  world  more  of  pains,  studies,  and 
sacrifices  than  we  make,  to  secure  it  without  spot  or 
blemish. 

Another  eiTor  and  evil  in  the  consideration  of  this  ques- 
tion  of  Biblical   inspiration   and    authority  is,  that  all  its 


THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING.  11 

contents  have  been  merged  in  one  volume,  the  writers  all 
squared  by  the  same  standard,  the  characters  all  required  to 
be  morally  perfect,  the  same  Procrustean  rule  applied  as  the 
test  to  the  Song  of  Solomon  and  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 
No  moral  perspective  has  been  observed,  and  no  moral  im- 
agination has  been  exercised,  in  recreating  and  reconceiving 
the  diversified  life  of  the  ancient  world.  The  Scriptures  we 
hold  to  be  inspked,  a  speciality  in  literature,  an  authority  in 
faith,  "  the  law  of  the  spirit  of  life,"  —  a  book  which  man, 
or  men,  could  not  have  composed,  collected,  and  commis- 
sioned—  one  paramount  key-note  sounding  from  beginning 
to  end  —  unless  the  writers  had  enjoyed  an  illumination 
superior  to  what  Virgil  received  in  waiting  his  poems,  Xen- 
ophon  his  histories,  or  Shakespeare  his  plays.  But  then  the 
inspiration  is  not  one  in  quantity  or  one  in  quality  through- 
out. It  has  rises  and  falls,  lights  and  shadows,  expansions 
and  contractions,  of  the  divine  element.  So  it  is  in  the 
works  of  creation ;  why  not  then  in  the  works  of  grace  ? 
We  do  not  presume  to  tie  up  the  Infinite  Power  to  one 
mode  of  operation  in  matter ;  why  should  we  in  the  yet 
more  boundless  realm  of  spirit  ?  In  this  characteristic,  we 
submit,  the  Bible  is  a  natural  book,  it  lies  like  fair  Nature 
herself,  vast,  varied,  unequal,  beautiful,  amazing,  but  hold- 
ing an  infinity  of  particulars  subordinate  to  the  one  grand 
strain.  It  is  a  book  which  steers  clear  of  the  common  van- 
ity of  authors ;  one  in  which  the  writers  claim  little  for 
themselves,  but  all  for  theu*  subject,  —  are  sometimes  un- 
known,—  do  not  override  the  freedom  of  man,  —  at  times 
say  they  speak  as  men  ;  but  yet  a  book  in  which  one  har- 
monious and  ever-brightening  radiance  of  the  religious  sen- 
timent shines,  from  Old  to  New,  from  Adam  to  Christ,  and 
the  idea  of  God,  and  man's  duty  to  him,  sit  enthroned  and 
sovereign.  It  is  a  history,  poem,  hymn,  sermon,  prophecy, 
argument,  dialogue,  essay,  fiction,  tragedy,  and  its  sweep  of 


12  THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING. 

variety  is  equal  to  its  steadiness  of  aim.  In  such  a  state 
of  things,  to  plant  a  genealogy  from  Chronicles  side  by  side 
with  the  beatitudes,  and  to  attempt  to  extract  as  much  spir- 
itual nutriment  out  of  the  sketches  of  the  rude  Philistines 
and  Edomites  as  from  the  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians,  seems 
to  be  a  confounding  of  all  moral  distinctions.  The  Canon 
has  always  been  in  discussion  ;  some  receiving  more  and 
others  less ;  Luther  stigmatizing  the  Epistle  of  James  as  an 
epistle  of  straw,  and  Swedenborg  rejecting  those  of  Paul 
from  the  word  of  the  Lord,  as  not  of  the  highest  authority 
and  spirituality.  Now  we  contend  that  the  spiritual  and 
vivifying  power  of  the  Scriptures  is  not  impaired,  but  en- 
hanced, by  this  various  dealing  with  its  contents,  and  this 
miscellaneous  condition  of  the  book  itself.  For  man  was 
not  made  to  be  most  influenced  by  set  rules,  but  by  large 
principles  ;  not  by  an  abstract  creed,  confession,  or  constitu- 
tion, indited  after  the  manner  of  a  legal  instrument,  but  by 
a  mingling  in  one  volume  of  all  the  methods  of  literary  and 
moral  composition.  The  very  state  of  the  Bible,  which  is 
objected  to  as  invalidating  its  authority,  is  most  favorable 
for  awakening  attention  and  inquiry,  speaking  to  different 
stages  of  culture,  and  leaving  human  freedom  inviolate. 
Each  one  calls  that  part  best,  which  is  best  suited  to  his 
state  of  character.  He  reads  what  he  affects.  He  calls  that 
inspired  which  to  him  is  inspiring,  and  he  truly  judges  that 
the  height  of  the  cause  must  bear  some  proportion  to  the 
depth  of  the  effect.  So  tenderly  has  the  right  of  free  judg- 
ment been  respected,  and  so  little  has  the  human  mind  been 
overborne  by  the  wisdom  from  on  high,  that  thus  far  the 
major  portion  of  the  Christian  world  is  buried  in  Judaism, 
sticks  to  Moses  and  the  Prophets,  and  has  not  yet  reached 
Jesus  and  his  glorious  company  of  Apostles,  nor  heard  the 
angelic  song  of  Glory  to  God,  and  peace  on  earth,  nor  the 
parables  of  the  Prodigal  Son  and  the  Good  Samaritan,  nor 


THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING.  13 

the  prayer  on  the  cross.  But  by  the  refining  and  reforming 
processes  of  Christian  thought,  Judaism  is  gradually  waning 
from  its  supremacy,  is  chiefly  valued  as  it  stands  connected 
with  the  Gospel  as  its  antecedent,  and  because  its  records 
are  the  treasure-house  of  such  unequalled  strains  of  devo- 
tional poetry,  golden  sentences  of  wisdom,  and  sublime 
prophecies,  while  the  Gospel  is  daily  rising  to  its  just  sov- 
ereignty, us  the  effectual  instrument  for  the  regeneration  of 
the  whole  world. 

According  to  the  declarations  of  the  book  itself,  revelation 
is  progressive,  the  Jewish  Scriptures  containing  a  promise, 
and  the  Christian  a  fulfilment  of  the  same.  It  is  remark- 
able that,  while  all  other  nations  placed  the  age  of  gold  in  a 
remote  past,  the  Hebrews  dated  it  in  the  far-off  future. 
But  if  there  are  these  gradations  in  the  general  system  from 
the  law  of  Moses  to  the  love  of  Christ,  why  should  it  be  a 
thing  incredible,  that  there  are  degrees  of  illumination,  and 
that,  while  to  One  was  given  the  Spirit  "  not  by  measure," 
to  others  of  the  sacred  speakers  and  penmen  it  was  granted 
as  they  were  fitted  to  bear  it,  or  as  the  wants  of  the  time 
required  ?  Among  miracles  there  may  be  the  greater  and 
the  less  ;  why  should  not  the  supernatural  as  well  as  the 
natural  works  of  God  exhibit  variety  ?  We  may  not  be 
able  to  tell  the  precise  quantity  or  quahty  of  inspiration  in 
a  given  case,  as  we  often  find  it  difficult  to  determine  the 
exact  calibre  of  a  genius,  and  define  the  position  of  a 
Wordsworth  in  one  age,  or  a  Smith  in  another ;  but  when 
we  see  the  sun,  we  say  without  hesitation,  "  There  is  the 
king  of  day,"  though  we  may  be  unable  to  compute  the 
temperature,  number,  or  essence  of  his  beams.  So  we  say 
of  the  Bible,  "  There  is  the  sun  of  suns,  with  light  from  be- 
yond the  empyrean."  Like  the  mighty  luminary  of  the 
sky,  it  has  some  dark  spots  on  its  disc,  but  when  we  can- 
didly examine  it,  and  see  its  incomparable  superiority  to 


14  THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    Ax\D    INSPIRING. 

the  sacred  books  of  other  nations  ;  when  we  find  it  so  sug- 
gestive of  spiritual  truth,  dealing  with  the  highest  relations, 
duties,  and  prospects  of  man  as  it  respects  God,  the  uni- 
verse, and  futurity ;  when  we  contemplate  the  unity  and 
progressive  nature  of  the  plan  it  unfolds,  and  consider  that 
the  agents  who  were  concerned  in  it  lived  thousands  of 
years  apart,  and  that  the  conspiracy  to  impose  upon  man- 
kind, if  conspiracy  it  was,  ramified  over  distant  generations, 
and  embraced  a  long  line  of  the  gi-eatest  and  best  men  who 
have  lived  on  the  earth,  with  Jesus  Christ  at  the  head,  and 
that  these  men  lifted  up  a  light  in  the  world  which  would 
condemn  their  own  characters  if  their  purposes  had  been 
dishonest ;  and  when  we  reflect  upon  the  results  of  this 
work  in  the  world,  its  duration,  its  subjection  of  different 
ages,  nations,  and  civilizations  more  or  less  completely  to 
its  controlling  spirit,  its  rich  and  unceasing  development  of 
truth  to  suit  the  progress  of  man,  new  germs  coming  out 
of  old  seeds  ;  —  upon  a  calm  survey  of  all  this  ground,  we 
cannot  doubt  that  the  Scriptures  contain  the  record  of  a 
supernatural  revelation  from  God,  mingled  indeed  more  or 
less  with  the  individualities,  and  of  course  the  imperfections, 
of  the  persons  who  indited  them,  but  possessing  an  inspira- 
tion and  an  authority,  in  addition  to  their  truth,  not  granted 
to  other  books  of  wisdom  and  genius.  It  is  philosophical 
to  account  for  a  stupendous  effect  by  seeking  for  an  ade- 
quate cause,  and  we  confess  we  can  discover  no  cause  able 
to  produce  the  effect  the  Bible  has  had  upon  the  world  ex- 
cept its  special  and  inspired  character.  No  other  sacred 
books  have  claimed  universality,  or  insisted  upon  being 
heard  in  the  forum  of  conscience  and  the  privacy  of  the 
heart,  as  the  unerring  guide,  as  the  perfect  comforter,  as  the 
life-giving  inspirer.  It  is  not  criminal  to  neglect  to  read 
Plato's  Dialogues,  —  other  things  may  more  than  make  up 
for  that  loss  ;  but  it  is  criminal  to  neglect  to  read  the  New 


THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING.  15 

Testament,  for  he  who  misses  that  loses  a  great  good,  which 
no  library  of  Alexandria  or  the  Vatican  can  supply. 

It  has  sometimes  been  said,  in  reply  to  these  views,  that 
the  volume  does  not  claim  to  be  inspired,  and  that  it  sets  up 
for  itself  no  such  superiority  as  its  advocates  allege  in  its 
behalf.  But  to  this  we  answer  that  it  does  contain  a 
"  Thus-saith-the-Lord,''^  repeated  many  times,  and  that  how- 
ever we  may  make  that  phrase  a  mere  Hebraism  to  express 
a  good  impulse,  or  a  dictate  of  reason  and  conscience,  yet 
we  cannot  avoid  the  conclusion  that  the  conduct  of  the 
Prophets  and  of  the  Apostles  was  often  regulated  by  some 
principle  or  communication  from  above,  different  from  the 
ordinary  exercise  of  the  human  faculties.  If  it  is  replied 
that  these  were  peculiar  men,  gifted  religious  geniuses,  abo- 
riginal saints  and  sages,  then  we  would  inquire,  why  other 
nations,  far  more  favored  by  education,  position,  and  native 
talent,  have  not  been  able  to  produce,  we  do  not  say  a 
whole  list  like  that  of  the  Hebrew  commonwealth,  but  even 
one  solitary  character  of  a  faith  like  Abraham's,  of  a  purity 
like  Joseph's,  of  a  wisdom  like  that  of  Moses,  of  devotional 
song  like  the  Psalms  of  David,  of  hallowed  imagination 
like  that  of  Isaiah,  of  a  charity  like  the  love  of  John,  and  of 
a  zeal  equal  to  Paul's.  The  Israelites  were  once  slaves,  a 
stiff-necked  people,  according  to  their  own  candid  history, 
not  richly  endowed  either  intellectually  or  morally,  hard  to 
be  improved,  easy  to  backslide  ;  yet  they  supply  a  cluster 
of  religious  leaders,  reformers,  and  idealists,  such  as  the 
world  has  never  witnessed  before  or  since,  —  such  as  not 
merely  one  nation,  but  all  nations,  cannot  match.  And 
when  upon  such  pillars  the  capital  was  set,  —  the  Lord  of 
glory,  —  the  Temple  of  the  Most  High  was  perfected  on 
earth.  These  men  speak  and  act  as  for  God,  and  not  man, 
and,  inspired  with  a  holy  spirit  themselves,  they  have  be- 
come divinely  inspiring  to  others,  who   have  even  so  much 


16  THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING. 

as  touched  the  hem  of  their  garments.  The  mighty  cause 
has  achieved  a  sublime  effect.  We  rather  would  say,  that 
it  is  an  eminent  feature  of  this  book  that  it  does  claim  a 
rightful  supremacy  over  the  faith  and  obedience  of  all  men, 
a  kingdom  of  heaven  over  all  the  kingdoms  of  earth.  They 
do  speak  in  character,  and  they  unconsciously  assume,  when 
they  do  not  directly  express,  their  right  and  title  to  enlighten 
and  guide  every  man's  mind,  heart,  and  conscience  before 
his  Maker.  Especially  in  the  New  Testament,  where  the 
plan  of  thousands  of  years  culminates  to  its  glorious  con- 
summation, the  assumption  by  Jesus  and  his  Apostles  of 
more  than  human  wisdom  and  authority  is  plain  as  the 
noonday.  If  this  were  fanaticism,  it  combined  with  it  a 
discretion  and  a  power  to  substantiate  its  claims,  such  as 
no  other  fanaticism  ever  afforded,  and  such  too  as  no  other 
wisdom  of  the  wise,  nor  power  of  the  strong,  has  been  able 
to  present.  If  this  were  dishonesty,  it  was  coupled  with 
the  most  remarkable  purity  of  private  life,  fervor  of  self- 
sacrifice,  love  of  the  truth,  and  devotion  to  the  good  of 
mankind.  If  it  is  so  easy  for  poets  to  sing  like  David,  for 
preachers  to  argue  like  Paul,  and  if  it  was  only  a  rare  re- 
ligious genius  who  spoke  through  the  wondrous  lips  of 
Jesus,  then  we  would  earnestly  press  the  question  till  it  is 
answered.  Why,  why  has  the  history  of  six  thousand  years 
been  so  destitute  of  such  instances  ?  Why  cannot  vast 
Christendom  now,  with  its  rich  experience,  its  cultured  mind 
and  heart,  yield  one  work,  or  small  chapter,  or  hymn,  that 
shall  be  read  without  blame  along  with  the  seventeenth 
chapter  of  John,  or  the  fifteenth  of  the  First  of  Corinthians ; 
one  that  shall  carry  such  a  weight  of  spirituality,  that  shall 
so  speak  to  the  depths  of  the  moral  nature,  and  announce  the 
duties  of  a  race  with  such  an  easy  and  natural  majesty,  as 
the  beatitudes  and  golden  rules  of  the  Galilean  carpenter  ? 
The  argument  of  permanency  is  a  strong  one  in  behalf  of 


THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING.  17 

an  inspired  and  authoritative  revelation.  Wise  Egypt,  pol- 
ished Greece,  and  proud  Rome,  as  institutions,  exist  no 
more ;  but  homely  Judaea,  as  an  institution,  lives,  spreads, 
emigrates,  and  lays  hold  of  immortality.  Assyrians,  Ty- 
rians,  and  Romans,  as  races,  are  obsolete,  but  the  Jews  are 
shone  upon  by  to-day's  sun  in  every  latitude  and  longitude, 
a  quite  universal  people,  hale  and  hopeful  from  the  battle 
of  three  thousand  years.  The  pivot  of  the  argument  is  here, 
that  the  religion  and  polity  of  this  wonderful  people,  though 
superseded  by  their  development  and  exhaustion  in  Chris- 
tianity, were  so  potent  with  vitality  from  their  divine  origin, 
that  they  live  on  and  keep  the  heart  warm  and  the  soul 
firm  from  generation  to  generation,  long  after  the  original 
impulse  has  been  transferred  elsewhere.  If  Judaism,  the 
incipient  institution,  have  such  longevity,  what  will  be  the 
duration  of  Christianity,  its  full-grown  power  ?  The  Veds 
of  Hindooism,  the  Morals  of  Confucius,  the  Oracles  of  Zo- 
roaster, the  Koran  of  Mahomet,  are  doomed  and  declining. 
None  of  these  have  been  able  to  get  the  least  hold  upon  the 
Western  and  ascending  races  ;  they  are  imbedded  only  in 
the  Eastern  and  perishing  races.  The  seeds  of  truth  from 
Judaea  flying  westward  have  taken  root,  and  the  fate  of 
Babylon  has  not  been  the  fate  of  Jerusalem,  to  die  out  of 
all  memory  and  affection  of  mankind.  Our  domestic  Ma- 
hometanism  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  and  its  volume  of 
fables,  contain  the  elements  of  a  speedy  dissolution.  This 
book,  on  the  other  hand,  does  not  die,  but  lives ;  is  trans- 
lated into  many  scores  of  languages  and  dialects,  and  dif- 
fused like  the  leaves  of  Vallombrosa,  east,  west,  north,  south, 
to  the  ends  of  the  world.  Other  systems,  propped  up  by 
colossal  pillars  of  empire,  buttressed  and  fortressed  by  hoary 
customs,  are  waning,  and  dropping  piecemeal ;  but  tlxis  vol- 
ume is  young  and  beautiful  to-day,  and  no  thought  yet  has 
gone  higher  than  its  thought  of  God,  no  love  has  welled  up 


18  THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING. 

from  such  depths  as  its  love  of  God.  How  shall  we  speak 
befittingly  of  the  difference  between  the  two  cases,  except 
we  say,  "  The  grass  withereth,  and  the  flower  thereof  falleth 
away,  but  the  word  of  the  Lord  endureth  for  ever  "  ? 

Then  look  at  its  power  of  resistance  against  all  the  en- 
ginery brought  to  bear  upon  it  in  these  hard-headed  Western 
nations.  All  species  of  scepticisms  have  taken  their  turns 
at  it  to  demolish  it,  —  the  scorn  of  Lucian,  the  philosophy 
of  Hume,  the  history  of  Gibbon,  the  science  of  France,  the 
freedom  of  Paine,  the  rationalism  of  Germany,  the  material- 
ism of  England  and  America ;  but  none  of  these  things  es- 
sentially move  it.  For  they  who  say  of  the  Church,  "  We 
have  sapped  its  life,"  and  of  the  Scriptures,  "  Lay  that  vol- 
ume on  the  upper  shelf,"  have  not  read  the  papers,  and  are 
not  living  in  the  living  world.  Indeed,  they  have  no  more 
apprehension  of  the  zeal,  number,  breadth,  and  success  of 
the  Christian  enterprises  now  on  foot,  and  wafting  their 
promises  to  every  clime,  than  a  babe  has  of  the  powers  of 
language.  We  well  know  how  even  learned  men  may  re- 
fine and  re-refine  their  theories,  and  run  off"  upon  a  wrong 
track,  until  they  lose  all  hold  of  the  realities  of  the  universe, 
and  their  arguments  and  their  principles  become  as  baseless 
as  the  fabric  of  a  dream.     Is  it  not  so  with  this  class  ? 

We  press  the  inquiry,  then.  How  happens  it,  if  this  reve- 
lation does  not  contain  the  special,  inspired  truths  of  the 
divine  and  otherwise  and  hitherto  incommunicable  reason 
of  the  Absolute  and  Infinite  One,  that  the  more  the  din  of 
appetite  and  passion  is  hushed,  and  the  still,  small  voice  of 
reason  is  heard,  —  that  the  farther  and  the  loftier  science 
and  learning  swell  their  triumphs,  —  that  the  more  arts  and 
inventions  are  perfected,  —  and,  in  a  word,  the  more  deeply 
the  human  soul  enters  into  the  knowledge  of  the  scheme  of 
creation,  —  the  more  widely  does  this  scroll  fly  abroad  in 
the  earth,  scattering  its  leaves  as  from  the  tree  of  life  for  the 


THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING.  19 

healing  of  the  nations  ?  If  not  consentaneous  with  the 
higher  than  human  plane  of  thought,  how  has  so  old  a  book, 
so  new  and  young  a  power,  permeating  with  its  spirit  edu- 
cation and  government,  art  and  literature,  leading  the 
world's  leaders,  burning  in  the  lyrics  and  stories  of  freedom 
and  the  appeals  of  temperance,  and  melting  in  the  accents  of 
peace,  and  smoothing  the  seamed  and  haggard  face  of  soci- 
ety with  every  lovely  feature  an  angel  might  wear  ?  That 
the  Bible,  asbestos-like,  can  stand  the  fire  and  light  of 
modern  investigation,  and  grow  purer  and  brighter  by  the 
searching  analysis  ;  that  it  becomes  mistress  of  the  hardiest 
races,  and  is  spread  most  widely  throughout  two  nations 
and  fifty  millions  of  haughty  Anglo-Saxons,  and  that,  un- 
satisfied with  any  past  achievements,  it  goes  on  conquering 
and  to  conquer;  —  these  are  presumptive  evidences  of  no 
little  weight  in  support  of  some  remarkable  power  in  these 
books,  unknown  before.  For  we  still  urge  the  question 
upon  every  reflecting  mind,  Why  have  the  rebellious  He- 
brews effected  a  result  to  which  the  philosophical  Greeks, 
the  sagacious  Romans,  the  devout  Arabs,  the  contemplative 
Hindoos,  the  brilliant  Persians,  and  the  moral  Chinese,  have 
proved  unequal  ?  By  what  wit  or  wisdom  were  they  of  a 
provincial  state  able  to  accomplish  the  universal  and  the 
eternal  kingdom  ?  We  know  no  better  solution  than  the 
words  of  Jesus  on  a  like  occasion,  —  "  Even  so.  Father,  for 
so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight." 

This  lofty  superiority  of  the  Gospel  especially  has  been 
well  expressed  by  Ackermann,  in  his  work  entitled  "  The* 
Christian  in  Plato."     He  says,  as  quoted  in  the  Christian 
Examiner  for  January,  1839  :  — 

"  We  affirm  that,  out  of  the  Church  of  the  Lord,  there 
never  was  a  more  Christian  philosophy  than  the  Platonic. 
We  affirm  that  Christianity,  —  which  from  the  beginning 
lay  in  the  bosom  of  history,  —  before  its  bodily  appearance 


20  THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING. 

in  the  person  and  life  of  Jesus,  had  reached  a  degree  of 
perfection  in  the  minds  of  thinking  men,  who  were  inquiring 
after  divine  truth,  —  and  this  ideal  gospel  was  Platonism. 
In  uttering  this,  we  have  said  the  most  and  the  best  of  him 
which  we  can  say  with  a  well-grounded  conviction.  Pla- 
tonism can  never  have  more  than  an  ideal  power  and  great- 
ness. 

"  But  now  if  Platonism,  by  its  ideal  nature,  its  religious 
sublimity,  the  perfect  beauty  of  its  dialectic  form,  is  so  ad- 
mirably fitted  to  astonish  and  inspire  the  thinking,  and  to 
win  all  souls  that  aspire  after  the  Divine,  —  how  great,  how 
infinitely  great,  must  be  the  hidden,  inward  power  of  the 
plain  words  of  the  humble  Jesus,  which,  though  destitute  of 
all  that  is  so  enchanting  in  Platonism,  have  not  only  estab- 
lished a  mighty  Church,  but  have  triumphantly  outlasted 
Platonism,  its  most  venerable  and  most  powerful  antago- 
nist!  And  if,  as  is  well  known,  in  the  whole  philosophical 
literature  of  ancient  and  modern  times,  no  production  can 
be  found  which  equals  Platonism  in  its  aesthetic  perfection 
of  form,  in  profoundness,  in  wealth  of  ideas,  and  in  the  lofty 
soaring  of  a  spirit  inspired  by  God,  how  incomparably  high 
must  Christianity  stand,  since  we  see  the  loftiest  work  of 
human  art  and  wisdom  far  beneath  it !  " 

But  in  advocating  the  characteristic  of  a  special  inspira- 
tion in  the  Scriptures,  we  encounter  some  who  reject  it  on 
the  basis  of  a  mistaken  intellectualism.  They  wellnigh 
adore,  it  may  be,  the  specialities  of  genius,  their  Goethe,  or 
Carlyle,  or  Coleridge,  but  recoil  from  the  specialities  of  in- 
spiration, the  Isaiah,  the  James,  as  something  contracted 
and  canting.  We  would  suggest  to  any  such,  that  thought 
must  be  incarnated,  and  that  that  wisdom  is  most  wise 
which  walks  among  men  and  mingles  with  their  life  its  pure 
and  holy  stream.  These  persons  profess,  to  use  one  of  their 
own  terms,  to  ignore  the  moral,  and  look  upon  mere  thought 


THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING.  21 

as  the  chief  immaterial  power,  and  for  inspiration  they  write 
genius.  But  the  point  is,  that  by  this  step  they  lose  not 
only  the  rich  spiritual  experiences  of  a  believer  in  a  special 
Christianity,  but  they  in  reality  forego  the  grandest  form 
and  the  most  enduring  which  intellectual  energies  can 
achieve,  and  that  is  wisdom.  We  live  in  an  age  and  a  land 
where  smartness,  shrewdness,  cunning,  and  brilliancy  of 
thought  are  esteemed  as  the  most  regal  gifts  of  the  mind, 
and  full-orbed  and  compacted  wisdom  is  put  at  a  lower 
figure,  if  it  have  not  the  trumpets  of  praise  and  self-love  to 
blow  its  own  progress.  The  leading  sceptics,  however,  as 
a  general  rule,  have  not  been  the  first-class  minds,  the  im- 
mortal few  who  have  led  the  ages,  but  they  have  been 
themselves  the  thing  they  most  admired  in  others,  ingenious, 
smart,  active,  shrewd  intellects,  but  not  clothed  upon  with 
Mntonic  thunder  or  Newtonian  light.  The  ingenuity 
which  can  invent  a  new  steam-engine,  or  discover  a  better 
method  of  growing  peaches,  is  not  always  associated  with 
the  other  attributes  which  are  requisite  to  appreciate  the 
lofty,  contemplative  thought,  the  impartial  wisdom,  the  au- 
gust reverence  before  highest  Heaven,  the  fervent  and  life- 
and-death  devotion  to  the  truth,  and  the  all-embracing  char- 
ity, of  ffim  who  spake  as  never  man  spake.  Let  those  who 
are  disposed  to  reject  revelation,  in  any  form  or  degree,  un- 
derstand that  in  doing  so  they  are  not  taking  a  higher,  but 
a  lower,  intellectual,  as  well  as  moral  position,  than  the  full 
receiver.  The  brilliant  eccentricities  of  genius  delight  us 
for  a  time,  but  they  soon  become  "  stale,  flat,  and  unprofit- 
able." Intellectual  dynasties  rise,  flourish,  and  decline.  At 
certain  periods  of  life  we  are  Byronic,  then  Carlylian,  then 
Franklinian,  then  Shakespearian.  At  certain  ages,,  of  Peri- 
cles, Augustus,  or  Queen  Anne,  a  special  form  of  literature, 
shaped  by  the  ideas  which  have  then  come  to  light,  is  de- 
veloped, superseded,  and  in  time  fossilized  into  the  perma- 


22  THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING. 

nent  formations  of  which  our  intellectual  earth  is  built 
up.  But  it  is  the  solitary  glory  of  the  book  of  books,  God- 
breathed  and  life-giving,  to  arch  itself  over  all  ages ;  and 

while 

"  His  truths  upon  the  nations  rise, 
They  rise,  but  never  set." 

In  the  wisest  intellects  of  Greece  and  Rome  there  is  a  cer- 
tain unsoundness ;  we  feel  that  they  have  not  got  hold  of 
the  true  theory  of  the  universe  and  intellectually  thought 
the  thoughts  of  God.  Hence,  upon  their  works  must  be 
written,  "  Mene,  mene,  tekel,  iipharsin.^^  They  are  read  and 
will  ever  be  read  by  a  few  of  the  learned,  and  known  as 
mighty  names  and  spells  of  power  by  a  larger  class  of  the 
intelligent,  but  they  exert  no  real  controlling  power  on  the 
mind  of  universal  humanity.  They  are  not  strong,  wise, 
all-sided,  and  absolute  enough  to  hold  the  spiritual  sceptre 
of  the  ages.  Before  Christianity  got  fairly  under  weigh, 
Platonism  and  the  Aristotelian  philosophy  for  a  time  quite 
overbore  it ;  but  as  it  has  won  for  itself  a  larger  freedom,  and 
spread  over  a  greater  extent  of  mind,  it  has  sloughed  off 
these  earlier  corruptions,  and  it  has,  and  it  will,  more  and 
more  become  itself,  in  its  native  spirit  of  power,  and  love, 
and  a  sound  mind,  and  reign  sovereign  over  the  philosophy, 
as  well  as  the  morals,  of  the  world,  and  inspire  art,  science, 
and  literature  with  their  inmost  wisdom,  as  much  as  piety 
and  philanthropy  with  their  justifying  and  rapturous  senti- 
ments. We  may  rest  doubly  assured,  that  no  mere  feeble 
work  of  mind,  however  elevated  in  moral  tone,  could  thus 
master  the  masters  of  the  mental  sphere.  The  testimony 
of  such  imperial  natures  as  Taylor,  Milton,  Pascal,  Locke, 
Newton,  Bacon,  Scott,  Wordsworth,  Coleridge,  demon- 
strates that  they  felt  a  deep  in  the  Scriptures  calling  upon 
the  deep  in  then*  own  being ;  or,  as  the  last  has  expressed 
it,  that  in  "  the  Bible  there  is  more  that  finds  me,  than  I 


THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND     INSPIRING.  23 

have  experienced  in  all  other  books  put  together  ;  that  the 
words  of  the  Bible  find  me  at  greater  depths  of  my  beino- ; 
and  that  whatever  finds  me  brings  with  it  an  irresistible  evi- 
dence of  having  proceeded  from  the  Holy  Spirit." 

But  it  is  said,  What  do  you  gain  by  your  speciality  of 
revelation  ?  You  only  receive  at  the  most  the  truth,  and 
the  rejecter  of  inspiration  receives  as  much  as  that,  and 
more  than  that  is  folly  or  superstition.  Is  he  not  as  happy 
in  his  unbelief,  as  you  are  in  your  belief  ?  Does  he  not  ex- 
tract as  much  good  from  life,  and  from  the  great  Nature, 
and  encompassing  Providence,  and  solemn  Past,  as  you  do  ? 
We  must  reply,  that,  according  to  our  views,  he  loses  much 
every  way.  He  misses  intellectually  no  little  of  the  power 
which  the  full  conviction  of  faith  would  give  ;  and  he  fails 
of  receiving  in  the  heart  that  peculiar  peace  and  rest  of  soul, 
which  come  from  reposing  on  the  promises  of  God,  and 
feeling  that  they  are  his  promises,  and  that,  if  these  fail, 

"  The  pillared  firmament  itself  is  rottenness." 

The  more  earnest  the  faith,  the  more  do  we  rise  from  the 
din  and  smoke  of  earth  into  the  stormless  calm  and  azure 
of  heaven's  heights.  Life  then  assumes  ever  a  deeper 
meaning,  a  tenderer  joy,  a  more  heart-felt  satisfaction.  We 
pass  within  the  outworks  to  the  life  of  life  ;  and  the  zest  of 
youth  and  spring  is  again  fresh  in  sense  and  soul.  For  in 
the  Scriptures  we  look  at  all  things  from  a  divine,  not  a 
human  stand-point,  and  the  joy  and  strength  and  love  of 
the  Highest  pass  into  us  while  we  are  beholding.  And  then 
also,  in  those  darker  days,  when  "  the  house  we  live  in  "  be- 
gins to  decay,  and  "  mind  and  memory  flee,"  how  securely 
does  the  devotee  to  this  higher  wisdom  and  love  witness  the 
desolation  going  on,  and  hear  the  busy  carpenters  tearing 
down  the  scaffolding  of  his  existence,  only  that  his  true  be- 
ing may  stand  out  in  all  its  simple  beauty  and  reality ! 


24  THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING. 

He  knows  as  Plato  never  knew ;  and  the  special  wisdom  of 
God  hath  appeared  to  bring  this  life  and  immortality  to 
light,  that,  though  "his  outward  man  perish,  the  inward 
man  is  renewed  day  by  day " ;  and  "  that,  if  his  earthly 
house  of  this  tabernacle  were  dissolved,  he  has  a  building 
of  God,  an  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the 
heavens." 

As  the  Scriptures  are  inspired,  so,  if  faithfully  used,  do 
they  become  life-awakening  and  soul-inspiring.  As  they 
are  living,  their  pupil  is  living  likewise ;  as  they  are  wise 
and  loving,  he  is  changed  into  the  same  image  from  strength 
to  strength,  and  from  glory  to  glory.  The  soul  of  the  world 
is  brutish,  and  its  ear  dull  of  hearing ;  but  when  God  thun- 
ders and  lightens  out  of  heaven,  men  cannot  but  look  up 
with  awe ;  and  when  he  says,  in  the  still,  small  voice  of 
love,  though  it  thrills  through  the  soul  more  than  all  the 
thunderings  and  lightnings  of  Sinai,  "  This  is  my  beloved 
Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased,  hear  ye  him,"  they  cannot 
but  hear  him,  and  they  have  heard  him  more  than  any  or 
all  other  teachers  for  twenty  centuries,  and  they  will  go  on 
hearing  him  for  ever. 

We  live,  in  truth,  in  an  image-breaking  age.  We  are 
impatient  of  the  past,  because  forsooth  it  is  the  past.  We 
bid  it  good-by,  and  seem  to  care  not  to  meet  it  again.  Our 
young  country  stands  straining  on  the  lists,  champing  the 
bit  till  it  is  white  with  foam,  and  hot  with  impatience  to 
thunder  forth  and  scour  the  plain  in  still  wider  circles  of 
enterprise,  and  challenge  still  prouder  victories  over  matter 
and  over  men.  Young  America  is  a  terrible  power  in  the 
earth.  But  the  voice  of  the  Master,  mightier  than  that  of 
any  earthly  potentate,  shall  be  able  to  say,  "  Peace,  Peace !  " 
instead  of  war,  to  this  Hercules,  and  he  shall  sit  clothed 
and  in  his  right  mind. 

But  in  order  that  the  inspiration  in  the  Bible  may  become 


THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING.  25 

inspiration  in  us,  we  must  read,  and  muse,  till  the  fire  burns. 
The  deep  book  must  be  read  with  our  deepest  mind.  "  K 
the  well  is  deep,  and  we  have  nothing  to  draw  with,  from 
whence  then  can  we  have  that  living  water  ? "  Voltake 
confessed  that  he  had  not  even  read  the  whole  of  the  book 
upon  which  he  poured  out  such  a  merciless  scorn.  Other 
infidels  have  confessed  to  a  similar  neglect.  We  say,  then, 
for  honesty's  sake,  give  as  much  study  to  your  theology  as 
you  do  to  your  geology  or  astronomy,  your  navigation,  engi- 
neering, or  farming,  and  "  hasten  slowly  "  in  making  up  a 
final  judgment  on  a  collection  of  books  so  various,  so  rever- 
end, and  so  ancient.  But  if  you  weigh  it  carefully,  and 
drink  in  its  sphit,  if  you  read  and  re-read  its  Job  and  its 
John,  and  con  its  moral  tables  and  golden  rules,  and  exult 
in  its  songs,  and  hush  your  heart  with  its  prayers,  and  de- 
scend depth  after  depth  into  the  passion  and  pathos  of  Jesus, 
and,  after  all  this  spiritual  process,  you  still  find  it  to  be 
only  a  bundle  of  Jewish  and  old  wives'  fables,  then  you  will 
have  falsified,  we  do  not  say  the  highest  yearnings  and 
moral  instincts  of  your  own  being,  but  the  colossal  testi- 
mony of  the  ages,  the  innermost  experience  of  the  wisest 
men  of  the  Christian  ages.  He  who  turns  from  the  book, 
when  he  has  thus  taken  it  home  to  heart  and  head,  has  not 
only  to  disclaim  the  power  of  the  Scriptures,  but  he  has  got 
a  yet  harder  battle  to  fight  with  history,  to  deny  "  Christian- 
ity as  an  existing  power  in  the  world,  and  Christendom  as 
an  existing  fact,  with  the  no  less  evident  fact  of  a  progres- 
sive expansion." 

But  were  we  never  so  familiar  with  the  Scriptures,  and 
could  we  rehearse  memoriter  its  psalms  and  its  parables,  it 
is  not  then  by  any  means  to  be  laid  aside,  as  an  old-world 
book,  which  we  have  learned  out.  The  Bible  can  never  be 
exhausted  in  that  way.  If  it  wears  threadbare,  it  is  to  the 
superficial  and  cold,  not  the  warm-hearted  and  the  deep- 


26  THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING. 

souled.  We  honor  God  in  matter  by  going  to  see  his  Great 
and  his  Fair,  and  we  should  honor  him  in  mind  by  admir- 
ing yesterday  and  to-day  and  for  ever  the  types  of  his  Great 
and  his  Good,  the  heroes  of  his  earlier,  and  the  saints  of  his 
later  dispensation.  We  greet  with  all  hail  the  spring  and 
the  song  of  birds ;  we  walk  in  the  autumn  wood  without 
weariness  ;  and  with  fresh  delight  and  wonder  revisit  Niag- 
ara and  the  Alps,  the  Atlantic  and  the  Rhine.  Why  should 
we  not  commune  with  the  Super- Nature,  the  Soul  of  things, 
with  new  inspiration  ?  Here  is  the  oldest  history,  the  purest 
theism,  here  are  the  wisest  laws,  the  highest  idealities  of  the 
spirit-world,  and  the  thoughts  of  the  Son  of  God.  There 
may  be  a  familiarity  which  breeds  contempt,  but  there  is  an 
intimacy  which  ripens  into  love.  The  use  of  the  Bible  pro- 
miscuously in  schools,  to  be  spelled  and  murdered  by  dul- 
lards of  the  form,  may  be  injurious,  but  its  reverential  and 
early  reading  by  childhood  must  be  favorable  to  clearness 
of  intellectual  vision,  as  well  as  purity  of  heart.  It  may  be 
so  read  as  to  enslave,  not  free,  the  soul ;  there  is  such  a  su- 
perstition as  Bibliolatry,  but  ,when  intelligently  and  rever- 
ently studied  and  digested  into  the  mind,  it  becomes  the 
charter  of  the  fairest  freedom,  as  well  as  the  missal  of  the 
lowliest  faith  and  penitence.  Then  we  would  say,  let  these 
holiest  words  be  lisped  by  children  at  their  mother's  knee, 
and  let  them  circle  round  the  fireside  of  home,  and  let  them 
make  musical  and  devout  the  walls  of  school-room  and  cap- 
itol.  Life  is  too  hard  with  soul-seducing  temptations  and 
crushing  afflictions,  for  us  to  cast  away  this  balm  of  the 
heart,  this  munition  against  evil.  Verily  we  cannot  es- 
trange ourselves  from  this  wise  and  mighty  counsellor  with- 
out losing  something  of  the  best  part  of  life,  and  vacating 
a  domain  of  rich  experience,  refined  intellectual  culture,  and 
sweet  and  happy  ideas  of  God  and  life  and  life's  future,  for 
the  want  of  which  no   amount  of  earthly  prosperity  and 


THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING.  27 

pleasures,  though   broad   as  the   sea  and  countless  as  the 
sands  on  its  shore,  can  ever  compensate. 

Inspu'ation  is  not  infallibility  ;  else  it  must  be  subjective 
in  the  mind  of  each  receiver,  as  well  as  subjective  in  the 
mind  of  the  giver.  Inspiration  is  no  chain  of  compulsion, 
either  to  the  intellect  or  the  heart.  High  and  holy  as  it  is, 
and  descending  from  the  heaven  of  heavens,  it  falls  gently 
on  the  soLil,  as  the  rain  comes  from  the  zenith,  nor  mars  nor 
breaks  a  single  petal  of  the  tenderest  flower.  Though  com- 
ing from  above,  it  is,  like  all  light,  discolored  by  the  atmos- 
phere it  passes  through,  and  issues  to  us  as  Mosaic,  Pau- 
line, Johannine,  or  Petrine.  Inspiration  is  not,  again,  perfect 
character,  any  more  than  it  is  perfect  knowledge.  It  is  a 
help,  not  a  substitute,  for  our  natural  powers.  The  men 
inspired  may  not  always  be  the  men  perfect ;  there  is  in 
them  likewise  the  play  of  the  terrible  engine  of  the  will.  It 
is  as  Peter  said  of  the  miracle  done  to  the  lame  man  at  the 
Gate  Beautiful,  so  of  the  world  taught,  —  "  Why  marvel  ye 
at  this  ?  Or  why  look  ye  so  earnestly  on  us,  as  though  by 
our_own  power  or  holiness  we  made  this  man  to  walk  ?  " 
It  was  not  because  they  were  so  perfect  in  character,  or  so 
wise  in  intellect,  beyond  all  other  men,  that  Paul  and  John 
spoke  as  they  did,  but  because  they  were  illuminated  from 
on  high  that  they  and  all  men  might  become  more  wise  and 
more  perfect.  Inspiration  casts  no  discredit  on  human  na- 
ture, but  it  honors  and  glorifies  it  rather,  that  it  can  be  the 
sharer  and  congenial  recipient  and  user  of  so  heavenly  a 
wisdom.  It  has  no  conflict  with,  and  assumes  no  haughty 
precedence  of,  reason  and  genius,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the 
intellectual  kings  and  princes  of  the  race  have  bowed  their 
laurelled  heads  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  and  have  felt  glori- 
fied, not  humiliated,  by  the  act.  In  its  light  they  have  seen 
light,  and  been  made  strong  and  beautiful  as  angels  by  its 
life  and  its  love.     From  its  elevated  plane  of  vision,  they 


28  THE    BIBLE,    INSPIRED    AND    INSPIRING. 

have  spoken  with  a  second-hand  inspiration,  and  have  kin- 
dled anew  the  failing  hope  of  the  world,  and  disarmed  the 
problem  of  despair,  the  destiny  of  man. 

O  wonderful  Bible !  book  of  the  ages,  theme  of  David 
and  Paul,  of  Moses  and  Jesus  !  a  recorded  revelation  from 
Infinite  Wisdom  to  frail,  ignorant  man,  sitting  in  sackcloth 
and  ashes !  Egypt  is  gone,  but  a  race  of  slaves  from  her 
boso_m  have  been  the  teachers  and  leaders  of  the  nations. 
Greece  and  Rome,  too,  have  had  their  rise  and  growth,  de- 
cline and  downfall,  and  they  too  are  gone ;  their  mytholo- 
gies and  their  philosophies  have  crumbled  with  their  Par- 
thenons  and  their  Pantheons.  But  this  mighty  river  of 
thought,  the  confluence  of  divers  streams  of  wisdom  on  the 
highest  subjects  of  God  and  the  soul  and  the  soul's  eternity, 
taking  its  rise  in  the  remotest  mountains  of  antiquity,  flow- 
ing down  with  an  ever-accumulating  volume  and  power 
through  successive  climes  and  countries,  bearing  on  its 
broad  bosom  the  freight  of  untold  treasures,  —  corn  from 
Egypt,  gold  from  Ophir,  myrrh  and  frankincense  from 
Arabia,  silks  from  Persia,  oil  and  honey  from  Syria,  and  its 
own  richest  wealth  from  Judah's  sacred  mount,  —  still  pour- 
ing onward  with  its  deepening  and  resistless  tide,  as  from 
the  hollow  of  God's  own  hand,  at  once  giving  a  refreshing 
draught  to  a  thirsty  soul,  and  fertilizing  provinces  and  king- 
doms with  its  inexhaustible  streams ;  —  what  if  it  have  a 
tinge  and  a  taste  from  the  soils  it  has  passed  through,  a  sed- 
iment from  the  affluence  of  its  tributaries,  and  a  bitter  and 
a  sweet  from  the  luxuriant  vegetation  which  adorns  its 
banks  and  dips  into  its  current  ?  Is  it  not  still  the  Great 
River  of  the  waters  of  life,  making  glad  the  city  and  church 
of  our  God,  rolling  ever  onward  with  its  majestic  sweep, 
and  carrying  with  it  the  innumerable  commerce  from  every 
kindred  and  tongue  and  people  under  heaven  toward  the 
Greater  Sea? 


ESSAY    II. 
THE  EPISTLES  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

The  New  Testament  has,  properly  speaking,  four  kinds 
of  writings  embraced  in  it,  the  Life  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
Four  Gospels,  the  History  of  the  Founding  of  his  Church 
in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  the  Commentaries  of  the  Apos- 
tles themselves  on  their  Master's  work  and  doctrine,  and 
their  own,  in  the  Epistles,  and  a  mystic,  magnificent  Proph- 
ecy at  the  conclusion,  in  the  Book  of  Revelation.  There  is, 
therefore,  an  epic  order  and  completeness  in  the  volume. 
It  has  a  beginning,  a  middle,  and  an  end,  or  rather  the  be- 
ginning of  an  end.  Biography  in  the  Gospels,  History  in 
the  Acts,  the  Epistles,  and  Prophecy  in  Revelation,  make  up 
the  fourfold  literature  of  the  New  Testament.  And  what- 
ever may  be  said,  or  conjectured,  of  the  way  in  which  these 
writings  were  preserved,  and  gathered  into  one  volume  at 
last,  we  cannot  doubt  that  the  providence  which  was  in 
their  production  was  also  in  their  preservation. 

The  Epistles  are  all  characteristic.  They  are  no  vain  rep- 
etitions of  one  another,  and  though  they  contain  no  new 
doctrines,  or  additional  substance  of  the  Gospel,  they  give 
new  views  of  its  relations  to  the  existing  systems  of  faith 
and  practice  at  that  time  in  the  world.  They  reflect  decid- 
edly the  style  of  thought  and  character  of  those  who  wrote 
them,  and  contain  internal  evidence  of  their  real  authorship. 
Paul's  pen  moves,  like  himself  in  his  missionary  tours,  in 
impetuous  sallies  against  error  and  superstition  and  sin,  but 
not  without  an  instinctive,  though  not  a  formal,  order  and 
logic.     John's  word  is  Love,  love  of  God  to  men,  love  of 

3* 


30  THE    EPISTLES    OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT. 

Christ,  love  of  men  to  God  and  Christ  and  one  another,  — 
love  at  first,  love  at  last,  love  midway.  James  is  an  essay- 
ist, gives  the  reasons  of  things,  moralizes,  and  philosophizes, 
and  illustrates.  Peter  breaks  out  with  the  noble  impulses 
of  his  fiery  zeal,  and  glories  in  his  personal  evidence  of  the 
dignity  of  the  Lord.  While  Jude  mingles  the  light  of  the 
new  with  examples  from  the  older  dispensations,  and  the 
author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  draws  a  detailed  com- 
parison between  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian  system  in 
favor  of  the  latter. 

The  Epistles  thus  written  by  Apostles  and  apostolic  men 
were  the  earliest  commentaries  upon  the  life  and  doctrine 
of  Jesus  Christ.  In  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  we  have  their 
deeds,  in  the  Epistles  we  have  what  is  equally  interesting, 
their  words.  They  add  no  fresh  matter  to  the  Gospel,  as 
some  critics  have  asserted,  nor  increase  by  a  single  unit  or 
fraction  the  truths  of  Christianity.  But  they  have  an  ex- 
ceeding charm,  as  showing  what  impressions  the  new  light 
made  as  it  broke  on  the  human  vision,  what  new  experi- 
ences it  wrought,  how  the  new  state  of  mind  and  character 
agreed  with  the  old,  what  plans,  theories,  explanations,  con- 
jectures, hopes,  followed  their  conversion,  what  was  their 
posture  of  mind  in  presenting  the  Gospel  to  others,  and  how 
it  stood  the  test  of  time  and  trial,  and  with  what  prophecies 
and  promises  they  cast  it,  when  they  meditated  their  own  ces- 
sation from  the  work,  into  the  bosom  of  the  mighty  Future. 
Nothing  could  indeed  be  more  opportune  to  the  cause  of 
the  Christian  religion  than  thus  to  have  the  very  letters  of 
apostles  and  disciples  on  the  subject  nearest  to  their  heart, 
written  from  the  midst  of  the  great  work  of  preaching  the 
Gospel  to  the  world.  These  writings  cannot  stand  as  high, 
as  an  authority  of  what  Christianity  is,  as  the  words  of 
.Jesus  himself,  but  they  illustrate  those  words,  show  how 
they  took  root  in  human  nature   at  that  period,  how  they 


THE    EPISTLES    OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.  31 

were  misunderstood  or  misapplied,  and  what  guards,  cau- 
tions, encouragements,  were  necessary  for  the  infant  Church. 

Especially  in  the  selection  of  Paul  to  give  the  largest  tes- 
timony of  this  kind,  we  see  a  certain  impartiality  of  Provi- 
dence. A  person  is  called,  not  of  the  original  Twelve,  one 
unbiased  by  personal  attachment  to  Jesus,  unacquainted 
with  his  life,  but  one  of  great  learning,  genius,  and  weight 
and  force  of  character,  who,  from  an  independent  standing- 
point,  should  give  his  testimony  to  the  truth,  reality,  value, 
and  power  of  the  Gospel.  But  we  have  elsewhere,  in  a 
succeeding  essay,  developed  more  at  length  the  priceless 
boon  of  such  a  recruit  to  the  Christian  ranks  as  the  Apos- 
tle Paul. 

The  value  of  the  Epistles  is  not,  therefore,  that  we  can 
settle  by  them  dogmatically  any  disputed  question.  The 
points  open  before'  are  as  open  afterwards.  Their  office,  in- 
deed, is  not  an  authoritative  one  at  all,  —  that  had  been  suf- 
ficiently discharged  before  ;  but  it  is  moral,  suggestive,  cumu- 
lative. In  the  mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses  should  every 
word  be  established.  Here  is  the  more  deliberate  judgment 
of  the  apostolic  mind,  in  later  years  of  life,  after  the  first  fer- 
vors of  discipleship  had  ripened  into  an  abiding  devotion, 
and  they  moved  forth  from  the  provincial  limits  of  Judaea 
upon  the  broad  arena  of  the  world.  They  witnessed  the 
central  spiritual  Power  beginning  its  impersonal  and  im- 
mortal work  in  the  earth.  It  might  have  been  said  that  the 
Gospels  were  enough,  that  the  Epistles  were  superfluous ; 
as  the  Turk  objected  to  the  Alexandrian  Library,  that,  if  it 
contained  only  what  was  in  the  Koran,  then  it  was  useless, 
or  if  it  contained  more  than  was  in  the  Koran,  then  it  was 
pernicious.  But  the  worth  of  the  Epistles  is  seen  when  we 
consider  that  we  understand  Christianity  by  the  experience 
and  testimony  of  other  minds,  as  well  as  by  those  of  our 
own,  and  that  a  Pauline  or  a  Johannine  interpretation,  even 


32  THE    EPISTLES    OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT. 

if  it  add  no  new  article  to  the  creed,  nor  make  any  actual 
conquest  of  original  truth,  helps  to  set  us  right  about  what 
has  been  revealed,  opens  new  vistas  of  thought,  clothes  old 
sentiments  with  fresh  illustrations  and  figures,  envelops  us 
in  a  new  atmosphere  of  associations,  and  serves  as  a  prime 
conductor  to  powerful  influences,  which  were  otherwise  in- 
sulated and  impotent  by  distance  of  time,  and  antiquity  of 
custom  and  mode  of  thought. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  the  Epistles  have  two  characteris- 
tics ;  namely,  that  they  are  local  and  temporary,  at  the  same 
time  that  they  are  universal  and  perpetual.  Like  all  things 
spontaneously  and  lyrically  done,  they  were  written  with 
the  best  adaptation  to  Rome  and  Ephesus  at  that  day, 
while  they  meet  with  full  satisfaction  the  demands  of  the 
world,  and  of  all  time.  Thus  their  speciality  is  their  charm 
and  forte,  and  their  impress  from  the  questions  of  that  age 
their  suitableness  for  all  ages.  For  the  difficulties  and  de- 
ficiencies of  the  churches  and  individuals  addressed  were  of 
such  a  nature  as  to  bring  in  turn  most  important  principles 
into  review,  discussion,  and  application,  so  that  we  here 
have  what  may  be  called  the  Handbook  of  the  Christian 
Religion.  The  controversies  cover  the  chief  ground  of  op- 
position to  the  Gospel,  both  among  the  Jews  and  the  Gen- 
tiles, and  if  the  writers  did  not  enter  into  the  Atheistic  de- 
bate to  prove  that  there  is  a  God,  or  far  into  the  Deistic  one 
to  prove  that  there  is  a  Christ,  it  was  because  both  facts 
were  essentially  taken  for  granted,  and  the  real  objections 
lay  elsewhere.  For  as  Judge  Marshall  once  keenly  re- 
marked, in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  to  a 
young  lawyer  who  was  arguing  an  obvious  point  at  a  tedi- 
ous length,  "  Some  things  must  be  presumed  to  be  known 
to  this  bench,"  so  some  facts  must  be  taken  for  granted  as 
true  in  this  world,  or  we  shall  never  make  any  headway. 
Sixty  centuries  have  not  passed  over  the  world  in  vain.     It 


THE    EPISTLES    OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.  33 

is  hardly  worth  the  while  to  stop  to  prove  to  a  blind  man 
that  the  sun  shines,  or  to  a  deaf  one  that  it  thunders.  More 
imperative  duties  call  us  away,  than  to  convince  a  fool  of 
his  folly,  or  a  crazy  man  of  his  insanity.  The  Apostles, 
therefore,  leaving  the  fields  of  mere  speculative  criticism 
and  debate,  where  a  handful  will  always  doubt,  and  where 
almost  unanimous  humanity  will  believe  in  the  monumen- 
tal facts  of  revelation,  moved  all  their  forces  to  those  prac- 
tical points,  where  the  real  obstacles  lay  to  the  cordial  re- 
ception of  Christianity  by  the  mass  of  mankind  in  Jewish 
and  heathen  communities,  and  to  its  supremacy  over  their 
lives  ;  and  they  executed  this  function  so  effectually,  that  in 
four  centuries  the  religion  of  Him  who  was  hung  upon  the 
cross,  and  buried  in  a  tomb,  had  ascended  the  throne  of  the 
Caesars,  and  waved  its  sceptre  over  the  known  world. 

The  Epistles  are  less  intelligible  to  the  men  of  another 
generation,  because  of  their  peculiar  form  as  epistolary  writ- 
ings. They  are  the  letters  of  only  one  side  of  the  corre- 
spondence, and  the  messages,  verbal  or  written,  on  the  other 
side  are  sunk  in  oblivion.  The  peculiar  state  of  things 
which  called  them  forth  is  also  a  matter  of  mere  inference 
or  allusion.  But  what  thus  makes  them  harder  to  under- 
stand, makes  them  more  individual,  and  piques  our  curios- 
ity. For  the  odor  and  color  of  the  times,  and  nations,  and 
places,  are  in  them.  They  are  savored  with  Judaea,  and 
they  taste  of  Asia  Minor  and  Greece.  They  daguerreotype 
in  sunlit  pictures  the  Christian  movement  in  its  varying 
phases,  an-est  it  and  perpetuate  it  in  the  young  flow  and 
flush  of  life,  and  give  it  to  our  view  to-day  as  a  piece  of  the 
granite  reality  of  history.  It  is  doing  in  religious  literature 
what  is  done  in  art  in  the  burial  of  Pompeii  in  the  ashes  of 
Vesuvius,  and  the  revelation  of  the  very  form  and  pressure 
of  life,  the  stamp  of  the  human  bosom,  on  the  disinterred 
ruins  at  this  late  day ;  or,  to  cite  an  even  more  memorable 


34  THE    EPISTLES    OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT. 

instance  from  geology,  it  is  a  view  of  the  first  age  of  the 
Church  like  the  picture  of  the  ancient  earth  in  its  throes  of 
birth  into  a  new  era,  which  we  see  drawn  in  eternal  lines  of 
stone  on  myriads  of  fossils  of  plants  and  animals. 

This  sweet  and  solemn  antiquity,  too,  more  than  makes 
up  for  any  obscurity,  and  it  grows  more  hallowed  and  pow- 
erful as  the  ages  roll  away.  For  here  are  no  crude  specu- 
lations of  yesterday,  but  the  venerable  thoughts  of  two  thou- 
sand years  ago.  Could  their  authors  have  anticipated  such 
a  perpetuity,  such  a  celebrity,  such  -a  stupendous  influence 
in  the  world  ?  Probably  not ;  and  it  is  well  they  wi*ote  un- 
consciously and  instinctively  for  greater  and  for  longer  than 
they  themselves  knew.  Had  they  foreseen  the  result,  that 
thought  would  have  been  a  distm-bing  cause  to  theii'  com- 
position. Paul  would  have  written  less  pertinently  for 
Colosse,  had  he  known  he  was  writing  for  England  and 
America  in  1854.  But  doing  best  for  that  time,  he  did  best 
for  all  time,  and  struck  a  chord  which  has  vibrated  in  the 
heart  of  ages.  This  is  no  made-up  and  artificial  immortal- 
ity ;  no  trick  and  artifice  of  men  have  kept  these  writings 
so  long  afloat,  and  saved  them  from  falling  into  oblivion. 
They  live,  and  spread,  and  take  to  themselves  the  suprem- 
acy of  the  world,  because  it  is  their  indefeasible  right  and 
title,  and  no  power  can  say  them  nay.  Tney  have  earned 
all  they  own. 

How  often  and  how  reverently  have  these  words  which 
we  con  over  to-day  been  read  and  meditated  upon  in  the 
long  ages  of  the  past,  by  men  of  every  kind  and  character 
and  condition !  They  have  been  lisped  in  nurseries,  and 
committed  to  memory  in  schools,  and  mused  over  in  soli- 
tude, and  preached  from  pulpits,  and  ejaculated  at  the  altars 
of  prayer  and  the  bedsides  of  the  dying.  The  mother  and 
her  child,  master  and  pupils,  priest  and  people,  monks  and 
nuns,  choirs  and  cathedrals,  theologians  and  philosophers, 


THE    EPISTLES    OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.  35 

have  bent  over  these  immortal  words  with  holy  awe,  and  to 
the  young  they  have  been  a  religion,  to  the  sorrowing  a 
comfort,  to  the  wicked  a  fear,  and  to  the  tempted  a  defence. 
Amid  persons  of  what  infinite  varieties  of  character,  in  what 
varying  moods  of  mind,  under  what  complexities  of  circum- 
stances, and  with  what  diversities  of  motives,  have  these 
words  of  John  and  Paul  been  applied,  and  how  have  they 
sounded  on  their  way  in  the  world,  and  made  the  stony 
Memnon  of  humanity  awake  and  sing  in  the  morning  beams 
of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  !  Men  and  nations  wax  old 
and  pass  away,  but  these  words  live,  bright  with  eternal 
truth,  warm  with  eternal  love.  "  The  grass  withereth,  and 
the  flower  thereof  falleth  away,  but  the  word  of  the  Lord 
endureth  for  ever." 

Furthermore,  we  can  readily  see  how  much  diversity,  as 
well  as  antiquity,  has.  woven  its  spell  over  these  books. 
The  very  names  of  Romans,  Corinthians,  Hebrews,  are  sug- 
gestive of  volumes  of  history.  They  have  a  broad  geo- 
graphic and  historic  scale.  They  rest  upon  innumerable 
pillars  of  ancient  association.  They  are  the  product  of  mani- 
fold exigencies,  the  expression  of  various  mhids,  and  echoes 
from  the  life  of  different  cities  and  countries.  If  the  sys- 
tem of  revealed  truth  had  been  presented  by  but  one  intel- 
lect, though  a  highly  versatile  one,  we  can  readily  perceive 
how  much  the  Gospel  would  have  lacked  of  its  present 
power  and  interest,  and  the  charm  of  its  diverse  style,  taste, 
and  intellectual  and  spiritual  action  upon  the  one  truth.  In 
this  view,  how  barren  and  tame  is  the  Koran  of  Mahomet, 
compared  with  the  New  Testament  I  Paul's  chapter  on 
Charity  is  not  a  work  of  supererogation  after  the  Master's 
Twofold  Law  of  Love,  and  the  Parable  of  the  Good  Samar- 
itan. James  too  can  utter  good  exhortations  on  the  neces- 
sity of  morality,  and  the  union  of  faith  and  works,  which  do 
not  tire  after  the  Sermon  On  the  Mount.  The  Gospels  are 
the  best,  but  the  Epistles  are  good. 


36  THE    EPISTLES    OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT. 

The  evidences  that  the  Epistles  are  the  genuine  produc- 
tions of  the  authors  to  whom  they  are  accredited,  are  vari- 
ous and  satisfactory.  As  to  their  purity,  we  have  the  testi- 
mony of  many  ancient  manuscripts,  versions,  and  quotations 
from  the  early  Christian  Fathers,  showing  that  they  existed 
from  the  first  essentially  in  the  same  form  they  retain  at 
present.  Eagle  eyes,  of  both  friends  and  foes,  have  watched 
over  the  Christian  records,  no  serious  corruptions  have  crept 
into  the  text,  and  antiquity  furnishes  the  means  of  purifying 
the  few  spots  which  have  dimmed  the  fine  gold  of  truth. 
Then  as  to  their  authorship,  we  may  say  it  is  as  well  au- 
thenticated as  that  of  other  ancient  writings,  —  as  well  as 
the  circumstances  of  the  case  will  admit.  We  have  as  good 
reason  to  believe  that  Paul  wrote  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
and  James  his  Epistle,  and  John  his,  as  we  have  to  believe 
that  Virgil  wrote  the  ^neid,  or  Cicero  the  Oration  for  the 
Poet  Archias.  He  that  doubts  the  latter  must,  like  Father 
Hardouin,  doubt  the  other.  There  is  the  declaration  of  both 
believers  and  unbelievers  in  Christianity.  There  is  a  long- 
string  of  quotations,  reaching  back  to  an  early  period.  There 
are  the  undesigned  coincidences  between  the  history  and  the 
Epistles,  which,  in  reference  to  Paul,  Paley  has  wrought  up 
with  so  much  completeness  in  his  Horse  Paulinae.  These  are 
the  intrinsic  reasons  of  the  case,  the  internal  marks  of  truth, 
the  style,  the  cast  of  thought,  the  animus^  all  combining  to 
form  a  somewhat  impalpable,  but  very  persuasive,  very  cogent 
proof,  that  they  were  written  by  the  persons  purported  to  be 
their  authors,  and  that  they  have  not  been  materially  altered 
or  corrupted.  If  we  trace  back  these  books  from  the  point 
of  the  present,  step  by  step,  and  age  by  age,  we  can  easily 
gather  from  such  an  induction  of  successive  suppositions, 
as  to  their  being  corrupted,  or  imposed  on  mankind  in  one 
era  or  in  another,  the  extreme  difficulty  and  improbability, 
and  almost  impossibility,  of  such  a  prodigious  fraud  being 


THE    EPISTLES    OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.  37 

perpetrated  upon  the  world,  and  nobody  being  found  to  de- 
tect and  expose  it,  in  all  the  range  of  the  early  centuries, 
when  they  were  gaining  their  foothold  of  general  accep- 
tation. 

But  even  if  the  present  testimony  were  invalidated,  and 
the  voices  of  tradition,  history,  style,  and  character  were 
dumb,  here  are  at  least  the  books  themselves  in  existence, 
and  in  possession  of  a  vast  influence,  and  we  must  account 
for  them  in  some  way,  and  for  the  spell  they  have  thrown 
over  the  world.  Something  cannot  come  from  nothing. 
Who  wrote  them  ?  Who  framed  the  mighty  arguments  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  ?  Who  winged  the  heavenly 
dove  that  flies  aloft  in  the  Epistles  reputed  to  be  John's  ? 
If  these  Apostles  did  not  compose  these  words,  we  do  not 
therefore  get  rid  of  wonders,  but,  on  the  contrary,  we  multiply 
them.  Then  there  were  as  good  as  two  Pauls,  two  Johns  ; 
the  Paul  of  the  Acts  and  the  Paul  of  the  Epistles  ;  the  John 
of  the  Gospels,  and  the  John  of  the  Epistles !  To  believe 
in  two  is  harder  than  to  believe  in  one.  These  books  must 
be  accounted  for,  and  is  there  any  explanation  of  their 
origin  easier,  more  natural,  or  involving  less  credulity,  than 
the  current  one  in  the  Christian  world,  that  they  are  the 
productions  of  those  authors  to  whom  they  are  generally 
attributed,  and  that  they  have  been  handed  down,  through 
all  the  accidents  and  vicissitudes  of  ages,  in  as  sound  a 
state  of  preservation  and  accuracy  as  the  classics,  or  any 
work  equally  ancient  ?  Nay,  that  they  are  in  a  better  con- 
dition than  other  works  of  antiquity,  because  they  were 
kept  and  copied  with  more  care  on  account  of  their  sacred 
character,  because  they  were  more  extensively  quoted  in  the 
Christian  Fathers,  and  were  translated  in  a  greater  number 
of  versions. 


38  THE    EPISTLES    OF    THE    NEW   TESTAMENT. 

There  are  in  all  twenty-one  Epistles,  thirteen  by  the 
Apostle  Paul,  one  by  the  Apostle  James,  three  by  the  Apos- 
tle John,  two  by  the  Apostle  Peter,  one  by  Jude,  and  one 
to  the  Hebrews,  usually  attributed  to  the  Apostle  Paul,  but 
probably  written  by  some  author  of  the  apostolic  age,  per- 
haps Apollos  or  Barnabas.  About  one  third  of  the  New 
Testament  is  thus  put  in  an  epistolary  form. 

There  has  never  been  any  very  serious  doubt,  among 
Christian  wiiters,  of  the  authorship  of  any  of  these  Epistles, 
except  that  to  the  Hebrews,  the  Epistle  of  James,  the  Second 
Epistle  of  Peter,  the  Second  and  Third  Epistles  of  John, 
and  the  Epistle  of  Jude.  The  merits  of  the  question  of 
their  genuineness  rest  upon  an  induction  of  circumstances 
in  each  separate  instance.  They  have  been  very  generally 
received  as  canonical,  and  as  having  been  written  in  the 
apostolic  age,  if  not  by  the  Apostles  themselves ;  but  they 
are  not  regarded  by  Biblical  critics  universally  as  being  of 
as  high  authority  in  the  settlement  of  disputed  points  in 
theology  as  the  other  Epistles. 

The  general  object  of  the  Epistles  to  the  Romans  and 
Galatians  was  to  show  that  righteousness  and  salvation 
were  to  be  gained  under  the  system  of  Christianity  by  faith 
inspired  by  love,  and  were  to  be  manifested  in  a  good  life. 
These  are  Doctrinal  Treatises. 

The  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians,  the  Ephesians,  the  Phi- 
lippians,  the  Colossians,  and  the  Thessalonians,  whilst  they 
also  inculcated  the  Christian  doctrines,  were  more  specially 
devoted  to  correct  errors  and  corruptions  which  had  sprung 
up  in  the  churches  in  those  respective  places.  Many  of 
these  vices  were  the  fruits  of  Paganism,  which  had  not 
yet  been  entirely  eradicated.  This  class  of  Epistles-  is 
Pastoral. 

The  Epistles  to  Timothy,  Titus,  and  PhUemon  are  per- 
sonal exhortations,  advice,  and  congratulations.     These  pri- 


THE    EPISTLES    OF    THE    NEW   TESTAMENT. 


39 


vate  letters  were  made  public  on  account  of  the  great  value 
of  their  contents. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  written  to  show  by  alle- 
gorical interpretations  the  superiority  of  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation to  that  of  the  Jews,  and  how  the  former  had  nat- 
urally grown  out  of  the  latter,  as  a  natural  development  and 
progress  of  the  less  to  the  greater,  and  elements  to  their 
perfect  organization. 

The  object  of  the  Epistle  of  James  is  to  correct  some  er- 
roneous notions  which  had  sprung  up  in  relation  to  faith  and 
works,  perhaps  from  the  strong  language  of  Paul,  and  to 
inculcate  practical  Christianity.  This  Epistle,  with  those 
of  Peter,  the  First  Epistle  of  John,  and  the  Epistle  of  Jude, 
are  called  General  or  Catholic  Epistles,  because  they  were 
addressed  to  Christians  at  large,  rather  than  to  any  particu- 
lar churches.  The  author  of  this  Epistle  is  supposed  to  be 
James  the  Less,  a  kinsman  or  cousin  of  our  Lord. 

The  Epistles  of  Peter  have  for  their  general  purpose  a 
mingling  of  Christian  doctrines,  designed  to  correct  preva- 
lent errors,  and  of  practical  exhortations  to  righteousness  of 
life  in  a  corrupt  and  heathenish  age.  They  conclude  with 
assurances  of  the  speedy  coming  of  Christ  in  his  kingdom. 

The  First  Epistle  of  John  is  general,  and  inculcates  Love 
with  as  much  earnestness  as  Paul  insists  on  Faith,  or  James 
on  Good  Works.  Neither  is  there  the  least  shade  of  incon- 
sistency between  the  three.  All  are  right ;  and  put  the  three 
together.  Faith,  Love,  and  Good  Works,  and  you  have  a 
complete  and  well-proportioned  Christian  character.  The 
natural  characteristics  of  these  several  apostolic  minds  led 
them  to  look  at  the  Gospel  from  these  different  stand-points, 
which  are  in  radical  reality  one  and  the  same.  For  it  is  the 
one  Christian  heart  that  loves,  trusts,  and  works,  as  the  leaf, 
the  flower,  and  the  fruit  grow  on  the  same  tree,  and  from 
the  same  deep  root.     Were  there  no  leaf  of  Faith,  there 


40  THE    EPISTLES    OF    THE    NEAV    TESTAMENT. 

would  be  no  flower  of  Love ;  and  were  there  no  leaves  and 
flowers,  there  would  be  no  fruits  of  Good  Works. 

The  Second  and  Third  Epistles  of  John,  addressed  re- 
spectively to  Cyria,  or,  as  it  is  rendered  in  our  English  ver- 
sion, the  Elect  Lady,  —  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  is  a  com- 
mon or  proper  name,  —  and  to  Gains,  are  short  greetings 
filled  with  the  same  love,  which  is  the  eternal  theme  of  the 
Gospel  of  John  and  the  Fh'st  Epistle. 

The  Catholic  or  General  Epistle  of  Jude  is  one  whose 
genuine  authorship  is  in  question,  but  it  is  probably  the 
composition  of  a  brother  of  James  the  Less,  the  kinsman  of 
our  Lord.  He  warns  the  churches  against  the  vices  of  the 
heathen  world,  and  reminds  them  of  the  certainty  of  the 
law  of  God's  retributive  providence,  as  administered  under 
the  elder  dispensation,  and  as  impending  in  the  later  one 
over  evil-doers,  and  he  predicts  the  approaching  advent  of 
Christ  in  his  kingdom. 

A  more  particular  introduction  to  each  of  these  Epistles 
will  be  given  hereafter,  as  they  shall  severally  be  com- 
mented on. 

The  Probable   Order,  Date,  and  Place  of  Writing  of 

THE    SEVERAL    EpiSTLES. 


Place. 

A.  D. 

1  Thessalonians, 

Corinth, 

52 

2 

(( 

52 

Galatians, 

Corinth  or 

Ephesus, 

52  or  53 

1  Timothy, 

Crete, 

Latter  end  of  55 

Titus, 

Ephesus, 

56 

1  Corinthians, 

(( 

56 

2 

Macedonia, 

57 

Eomans, 

Corinth, 

58 

2  Timothy, 

Rome, 

61 

Ephesians, 

u 

62 

Colossians, 

Cl 

62 

THE    EPISTLES    OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.  41 


A.  D. 
62 

62 
63 
65 


Philemon, 

Philippians, 

Hebrews, 

1  Peter, 

2  Peter, 
James, 

1  John, 

2  John, 

3  John, 
Jude, 

Place. 

Rome, 

u 
Italy, 
Babylon, 

Ephesus 
u 

70 


ESSAY    III. 

THE    APOSTLE    PAUL. 

St.  Paul,  though  chosen  last,  is  the  first  in  rank  of  the 
"  glorious  company  of  the  Apostles."  The  Twelve,  striving 
among  themselves  who  should  be  the  greatest,  little  thought 
that  a  native  of  Tarsus,  a  city  of  an  insignificant  province 
of  Asia  Minor,  would  bear  off  the  palm  from  the  children  of 
the  Holy  Land.  They  were  appointed  to  a  general  office, 
but  he  was  singled  out  for  a  peculiar  mission,  for  which 
neither  the  zeal  of  Peter  nor  the  love  of  John  was  adequate. 
To  overstep  the  limits  of  Palestine,  and  carry  the  Gospel  to  the 
vast  Gentile  world,  required  a  rare  combination  of  gifts,  and 
in  Paul  that  combination  was  found.  The  chosen  one  must 
be  born  as  it  were  between  Judaism  and  Gentilism,  that  he 
might  not  be  too  much  tyrannized  over  by  either  system. 
He  must  be  conversant,  too,  with  the  old,  that  he  might 
better  measure  and  appreciate  the  new.  Paul  was  a  Greek 
by  nativity,  a  Koman  by  citizenship,  and  a  Jew  by  religion. 
Versed  in  Gentile  lore,  and  taught  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel, 
he  was  prepared  to  see,  when  his  eyes  were  opened,  the  per- 
fection of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  With  a  profound 
sense  of  duty  inwrought  by  the  Jewish  faith,  with  the  cul- 
ture of  a  Grecian  city,  and  under  the  shield  of  that  magic 
citizenship  by  which  E-ome  was  then  opening  privileges  to 
the  traveller  who  possessed  it  over  the  habitable  globe,  Paiul 
was  furnished  in  a  remarkable  manner  for  his  work,  by 
birth,  education,  and  position. 

In  considering  also  the  "  final  causes  "  of  the  selection  of 
Paul  by  that  Infinite  Intelligence,  who  adapts  now  an  in- 


THE    APOSTLE    PAUL.  43 

sect  to  its  element  of  air  or  water,  and  now  a  planet  to  its 
orbit,  we  discern  much  of  fitness  and  foresight.  There  is  a 
great  work  to  be  done,  and  a  mighty  workman  is  chosen  for 
its  execution.  The  original  nature  of  Paul  fitted  him  to 
perform  a  sublime  mission.  Without  question,  he  is  the 
leading  intellect  among  the  sacred  writers.  He  had  a  too 
sharply  defining  imagination  for  a  poet,  too  logical  an  un- 
derstanding for  a  psalmist,  and  too  impassioned  a  nature 
for  a  philosopher  ;  but  he  nevertheless  combined  in  himself 
much  of  all  these  characters.  His  illustrations  are  often 
beautiful,  his  soul  is  constantly  attuned  to  praise,  and  by 
single  flashes  of  thought  he  compasses  results  which  others 
attain  by  long  processes  of  argumentation.  Whatever  there 
might  be  of  ruggedness  of  outline  in  the  forms  in  which  he 
presented  his  thoughts,  those  thoughts  themselves  burned 
with  an  inextinguishable  fire  of  conviction.  He  was  no 
quoter  nor  second-hand  repeater.  Whatever  might  go  into 
his  mind  came  out  personal  and  Pauline.  Wide  in  his  out- 
look, yet  distinct  in  his  aim  ;  indomitable  of  will,  but  flexi- 
ble when  that  will  must  bend  or  break ;  profound  in  his 
thought,  but  practical  in  its  application  ;  zealous  in  temper- 
ament, yet  imbued  with  a  charity  that  would  clasp  the 
world  in  his  embrace  ;  loving  controversy,  but  loving  the 
truth  better  than  victory  ;  highly  intellectual,  yet  always 
paying  allegiance  to  the  supremacy  of  the  moral  powers,  — 
the  Apostle  presented  an  ample  range  of  contrasts  in  his 
genius  and  character.  The  intense  earnestness  of  his  mind, 
in  whatever  direction  it  moved,  and  whatever  posture  it 
took,  is  seen  in  every  sentence.  Culture  had  not  quencjied 
the  generous  flame  of  native  ardor.  Inspiration  had  not 
dulled  the  energies  of  a  spirit  which  concentrated  the  forces 
of  a  hundred  wills  in  a  single  breast,  and  which  heaved  with 
the  afTections  as  of  a  hundred  hearts.  His  whole  being  pul- 
sates with  life.     Every  faculty  is  in  a  high  state  of  vitality. 


44  THE    APOSTLE    PAUL. 

If  we  complain  of  imperfections,  they  are  not  the  imperfec- 
tions of  deficiency,  but  of  superabundance.  If  his  page  be 
dark,  it  is  "  dark  with  excess  of  light."  When  he  enters 
upon  his  theme,  the  windows  of  heaven  are  opened  and  the 
fountains  of  the  great  deep  are  broken  up.  It  is  as  the  wise 
man  said,  "  Lo,  my  brook  became  a  river,  and  my  river  be- 
came a  sea."  In  the  flood  of  emotions  and  thoughts  on 
which  he  is  borne  along,  all  temporal  interests  are  swal- 
lowed up,  and  the  reader  arrives  with  the  \vriter  at  the  same 
all-important  conclusions,  and  responds  the  same  devout 
Amen! 

The  Apostle's  life  also  possessed  a  remarkable  unity. 
He  believed  Judaism  divine,  and  he  advocated  it  with  his 
whole  soul.  And  when  new  light  came,  and  he  recognized 
the  higher  divinity  of  the  Gospel,  he  was  "  not  disobedient 
unto  the  heavenly  vision."  His  notable  conversion,  there- 
fore, was  a  change  in  direction,  not  in  motive,  or  zeal,  or 
conscientiousness,  or  devotion  to  the  service  of  God.  It 
was  like  the  change  of  his  name,  the  substitution  of  one, 
and  that  the  first,  letter  for  another,  changing,  but  not  anni- 
hilating, the  original  sound. 

Yet  Paul  had  passed  through  very  different  religious  ex- 
periences from  those  of  the  other  Apostles,  and  he  derived 
new  power  from  this  source.  It  has  been  said,  that  we 
cannot  fully  know  the  strength  of  an  opponent's  argument, 
unless  we  have  at  some  time  been  of  his  belief.  Paul  was 
a  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews.  A  Jewish  doctor  could  tell  him 
nothing  new.  He  had  been  a  Jew  after  Christ  had  lived 
and  died,  a  Jew  in  opposition  and  persecution,  and  he  had 
tasted  the  guilt  of  that  passion  and  the  force  of  that  preju- 
dice. Men  and  women  he  had  hauled  to  prison  and  to 
death.  In  his  inhuman  bigotry  he  "  breathed  out  threaten- 
ings  and  slaughter  against  the  disciples  of  the  Lord,"  and 
persecuted  them  from  city  to  city.     The  very  existence  of 


THE    APOSTLE    PAUL.  45 

the  Christian  Church  was  endangered  by  this  arch-enemy. 
But  in  the  height  of  his  career,  he  is  arrested  by  a  voice 
from  heaven  ;  a  voice,  not  of  vengeance,  but  of  mild  expos- 
tulation and  warning  from  the  Lord,  whose  cause  he  was 
pursuing  with  rancor  and  murder.  Every  circumstance 
connected  with  the  conversion  of  Paul  substantiates  its  mi- 
raculous origin.  But  within  the  precincts  of  his  own  mind, 
we  detect  no  compulsion  or  violation  of  his  free  agency. 
The  blow  by  which  he  was  stopped  in  his  course  of  perse- 
cution was  sudden,  but  the  process  of  mind  through  which 
he  became  fully  imbued  with  the  Christian  faith  and  charity 
was  progressive.  For  a  season  he  sits  in  blindness  and 
prayer,  neither  eating  nor  drinking.  For  three  years  he 
dwelt  in  Arabia  and  foreign  places,  and  only  once  during 
fourteen  years  visited  Jerusalem,  the  head-quarters  of  the 
new  faith.  Though  no  one,  accordingly,  was  more  active 
in  proclaiming  Christianity  to  the  world,  or  entered  so  fully 
into  what  might  be  called  the  missionary  cause  of  that  pe- 
riod, no  one,  again,  had  a  more  personal,  peculiar,  and  vivid 
religious  experience.  From  a  persecutor  he  had  been  raised 
to  the  glorious  office  of  an  Apostle  ;  the  chief  of  sinners,  he 
had  found  mercy.  Hence  there  is  a  vividness  of  emotion, 
an  intense  yearning  of  love  and  gratitude,  that  can  find  no 
words  strong  enough  to  do  them  justice.  Jesus  had  not 
been  known  to  him  personally  in  his  daily  walks  and  famil- 
iar conversation  and  travels,  as  he  had  to  the  other  disciples. 
He  had  spoken  to  him  from  heaven,  and  communicated  in 
visions.  He  was,  therefore,  a  more  solemn  and  awe-inspiring 
being,  a  more  transcendent  benefactor,  to  Paul,  than  to  John 
who  reclined  in  his  bosom,  or  to  Peter  who  denied  him  and 
was  pardoned.  Paul  was  very  far  from  regarding  or  speak- 
ing of  Jesus  as  God,  but  he  more  constantly  calls  him 
Christ  and  Lord.  The  events  of  his  own  life  became  the 
background  on  which  his  rescue  from  the  guilt  and  fate  of 


46  THE    APOSTLE    PAUL. 

a  persecutor  of  the  Church  stood  out  in  strong  relief.  His 
own  experiences  became  motives  to  prompt  him  to  save 
others.  He  had  measured  the  depth  of  that  pit  out  of 
which  he  had  been  drawn,  and  he  spared  no  toil  or  suffering 
to  lift  up  others  also  from  its  dark  recesses  into  light  and 
liberty.  The  line  kindles  with  personal  emotion  when  he 
speaks  of  sin  and  pardon  and  salvation,  and  he  added  to  the 
power  of  argument  the  intensity  of  persotial  consciousness 
and  conviction. 

Then,  too,  his  life  subsequently  to  his  conversion  fur- 
nishes abundant  materials  to  illustrate  and  vivify  his  dis- 
co arse.  He  had  sounded  all  the  depths  of  the  inward  life, 
and  he  had  traversed  all  the  regions  and  scenes  of  its  objec- 
tive manifestations.  Hence  his  character  was  one  of  no 
halting  or  half-way  quality.  The  pendulum  of  its  move- 
ment had  a  ^vide  swing,  and  it  passed  through  many  arcs 
of  a  complete  circle.  What  the  Apostle  said,  he  said  with 
all  his  heart,  and  what  he  did,  he  did  with  all  his  might. 
His  faculties  have  totality  of  action,  and  when  they  enter 
into  battle  they  give  their  whole  momentum  to  the  charge, 
without  fear  or  misgiving.  He  could  speak  like  a  prophet, 
because  he  had  lived  like  a  hero.  He  could  write  with  the 
enthusiasm  of  poetry,  though  without  its  form,  because  in 
his  history  were  the  elements  of  romance.  His  journeys, 
his  perils,  his  shipwrecks,  his  scourgings  and  stonings,  his 
chains  and  imprisonments,  his  joys  and  his  triumphs,  all  af- 
forded vivid  figures  of  speech,  with  which  his  glowing  mind 
clothed  itself  in  the  act  of  composition.  He  had  touched 
the  exti'eme  points  of  earthly  vicissitude,  and  measured  the 
length  and  breadth  of  hope  and  fear.  One  day  on  the  point 
of  being  adored  as  a  god,  he  was  liable  on  the  next  to  be 
killed  as  a  common  malefactor.  Now  the  object  of  the 
most  affectionate  confidence,  and  revered  as  holding  the 
sceptre  of  an  Apostle's  authority,  he  was  exposed  by  the  sud- 


THE    APOSTLE    PAUL.  47 

den  turn  of  the  wheel  of  his  fortunes  to  the  suspicions  of 
his  friends  or  the  malignity  of  his  enemies.  Under  such 
circumstances,  his  words  are  laden  with  the  unction  of  the 
truth  for  which  he  lived  and  suffered.  His  language  be- 
comes action  rather  than  the  medium  of  meditation,  and 
the  page  seems  to  heave  with  the  throbbings  of  a  living 
heart.  It  thrills  and  trembles  with  the  exultations  and  ago- 
nies of  his  powerful  emotional  nature.  "  Who,"  he  ex- 
claims, "  is  offended,  and  I  burn  not  ?  "  "I  glory  in  my 
infirmities,  that  the  power  of  Christ  may  rest  upon  me." 
The  writings  of  Paul,  as  said  by  a  brother  Apostle,  "  are 
hard  to  be  understood,"  but  he  himself  is  transparent  and 
intelligible.  His  weaknesses  and  his  excellences  are  de- 
picted with  all  the  accuracy  of  legal  testimony. 

In  analyzing,  therefore,  the  sources  of  his  power,  we  de- 
tect as  one  of  the  gi-eatest  charms  of  his  writings  their 
vigorous  and  vital  personality.  His  epistles  are  an  auto- 
biography. They  might  be  called  "  The  Confessions  of  St. 
Paul."  However  abstruse  the  point  of  controversy,  the  face 
of  Paul  himself  looks  out  from  amidst  the  arguments.  We 
feel  that  it  is  a  warm  and  living  hand,  fed  from  a  great 
heart,  that  is  leading  us  through  the  labyrinth  of  free  will 
and  foreknowledge.  Paul  will  ever  stand  within  the  circle 
of  om-  human  sympathies,  for  if  we  cannot  in  every  instance 
trace  the  line  of  his  thoughts  in  their  logical  sequence, 
though  we  never  can  doubt  that  that  sequence  exists  to  his 
own  mind,  we  always  feel  the  electric  shock  of  his  enthusi- 
asm. His  tears  and  bloody  stripes  wet  the  leaf  we  read, 
and  the  resonance  of  his  gratitude  echoes  and  re-echoes  from 
side  to  side.  His  dangers  and  sufferings,  his  joys  and  tri- 
umphs, his  glorious  self-sacrifice  and  his  poignant  self-re- 
proaches, his  scathing  moral  indignation  and  his  sweet  and 
earnest  charity,  are  portrayed  on  every  page  as  by  the  colors 
of  the  painter,  more  than  the  words  of  the  writer.     This 


48  THE    APOSTLE    PAUL. 

autobiographical  characteristic  of  his  \\Titings  may  diminish 
in  some  measure  the  perfection  of  that  "  dry  light "  in  which, 
a  more  impersonal  writer  would  look  at  his  subject,  but  it 
will  ever  add  an  inexpressible  charm  to  the  earliest  contro- 
versies of  the  Christian  Church,  that  they  were  incorporated 
into  the  living  experience  and  interest  of  so  large  and  vital 
a  soul  as  that  of  the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  To  this  qual- 
ity especially  we  may  attribute  much  of  the  interest  which 
attaches  to  his  A\Titings  in  the  churches  of  the  Reformation, 
because  in  him  more  than  in  any  other  Apostle  is  manifest- 
ed that  marked  and  self-relying  independence  which  consti- 
tutes the  genius  of  Protestantism. 

Paul  had  points  of  resemblance  to  the  other  Apostles,  but 
there  were  also  points  of  difference.  He  had  zeal,  but  it 
was  unlilvc  the  zeal  of  Peter.  It  was  the  zeal  of  a  wider 
and  more  cultivated  natm-e,  and  hence  it  was  intellectually 
more  catholic,  and  morally  more  courageous.  The  horizon 
of  the  one  was  long  limited  to  the  boundaries  of  Palestine. 
The  horizon  of  the  other,  from  his  earliest  conversion,  be- 
came the  utmost  ends  of  the  earth. 

The  love  of  Paul  was  great,  but  it  was  different  from  the 
love  of  John.  The  affections  of  Paul  were  more  concerned 
with  persons,  and  those  of  John  more  with  principles.  The 
charity  of  Paul  had  a  more  sympathetic,  earthly,  and  ch'- 
cumstantial  character.  He  remembers  all  his  friends,  de- 
lights in  mentioning  their  names,  and  has  a  good  word  for 
each  and  all.  The  love  of  John  is  impersonal,  mystical, 
rapt,  as  if  already  borne  beyond  the  fellowship  of  time  and 
sense.  To  the  great  mass  of  toiling,  struggling  spirits  seek- 
ing to  rise  to  God  on  the  wings  of  ardent  devotion,  and  to 
embrace  all  humanity  in  universal  charity,  Paul  speaks  the 
more  effective  word  of  encouragement.  But  to  the  few  of 
celestial  temper  and  exquisite  tenderness  of  soul,  John  is 
the  more  welcome    Apostle ;    for,  lying  in  the   bosom    of 


THE    APOSTLE    PAUL.  49 

Christ  and  of  God,  he  discourses  without  a  pang  or  effort 
of  perfect  union  with  the  Divine  nature,  and  of  the  heaven 
of  love  in  which  that  union  is  eternal. 

Again,  Paul  moves  in  a  different  plane  from  that  of 
James,  who  is  the  Apostle  of  what  may  be  called  the  minor 
morals.  Paul  is  more  versatile,  and  passes  readily  from  the 
discussion  of  the  great  questions  of  Judaism  and  of  Chris- 
tianity to  the  inculcation  of  the  humblest  social  duties. 
But  James  dwells  almost  habitually  in  the  range  of  the  pru- 
dential and  familiar.  Paul  illustrates  from  his  imagination 
as  well  as  from  his  experience  ;  while  James  animates  his 
subject  with  the  ship,  the  wave,  the  fountain,  the  horse,  the 
rich  man  with  his  gold  ring,  and  the  poor  man  in  his  rags. 
Paul  gives  principles,  James  rules.  The  motives  to  which 
Paul  appealed  are  drawn  from  a  wider  compass  of  thought, 
and  from  more  profound  depths  of  sentiment ;  while  those 
employed  by  James  lie  within  the  limited,  spiritual  sphere 
of  a  fisherman  of  Galilee.  The  Epistle  of  James  is  con- 
densed, epigrammatic,  and  allows  but  a  short  space  between 
its  premises  of  doctrine  and  its  conclusions  of  duty.  But 
the  phalanx  of  Paul's  style  sweeps  the  whole  field  of  revela- 
tion, history,  and  human  nature,  touches  heaven  and  touches 
earth,  and  from  the  whole  immense  range  of  contemplation 
brings  to  bear  on  the  human  heart,  not  reasons  of  conscience 
or  utility  alone,  but  inspirations  of  love  and  quickenings  of 
spiritual  power. 

As  the  characteristics  of  Paul  differ  from  those  of  his  apos- 
tolical associates,  so  has  he  had  a  peculiar  influence  and 
destiny  in  Christian  history.  He  may  be  called  the  Apostle 
of  the  Protestant  Church,  if  John  be  that  of  the  Oriental 
and  the  Greek,  and  Peter  of  the  Roman  Catholic.  The 
Cathedral  of  St.  Paul  stands  in  London,  the  Protestant 
metropolis,  and  St.  Peter's  is  in  Rome.  The  mysticism  of 
John,  the  zealous  but  compromising  spirit  of  Peter,  and  the 


50  THE    APOSTLE    PAUL.  ^ 

strongly  marked  intellectual  and  controversial  qualities  of 
Paul,  have  unconsciously  given  a  cast  and  coloring  to  the 
great  bodies  of  Christendom.  As  Christ  has  not  yet  be- 
come the  real  head  of  his  own  Chm'ch,  those  who  stood  as 
it  were  in  the  capacity  of  mediators  between  him  and  the 
world  have  given,  not  merely  a  local  name  and  habitation, 
but  an  intrinsic  spirit,  to  the  churches  of  nations  and  ages. 
Orientalism  delights  in  the  Johannine  love,  and  the  mystic 
union  with  the  divine.  The  Romish  Church  has  too  readily 
coalesced  with  the  existing  faith  and  ceremonies  of  its  con- 
verts, whether  in  ancient  Rome  or  in  modern  China,  as  Peter 
is  accused  of  doing  with  regard  to  Judaism.  But  the  Apos- 
tle Paul  is  essentially  a  controversialist  in  the  good  sense 
of  that  term,  an  evangelical  dialectician,  a  tenacious  advo- 
cate of  the  truth,  ready  at  all  times  to  do  good  battle  for  its 
smallest  iota,  whether  in  theology  or  morals.  The  mystical 
and  the  ceremonial  sects  receive  Paul  with  qualification. 
The  followers  of  Swedenborg  do  not  regard  him  as  canoni- 
cal, and  the  liturgies  *of  Greece,  Rome,  and  England  contain 
scarce  a  sentence  from  his  glowing  utterances  of  truth  and 
love.  But  the  Protestant  chiefs  have  held  Paul  in  gi'eat  re- 
pute. Luther  found  in  him  the  doctrine  of  justification  by 
faith,  which  he  hurled  as  his  most  effective  missile  at  the 
Vatican.  Calvin  took,  as  heads  to  his  sermons,  hundreds 
of  texts  from  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  but  scarcely  one  from  the 
Gospels,  and  the  confessions  of  faith  of  all  those  churches 
which  hold  the  Trinitarian  dogmas  and  the  doctrines  of 
grace,  technically  so  called,  bristle  with  weapons,  offensive 
and  defensive,  from  the  same  grand  armory. 

In  order  to  understand  the  causes  of  the  somewhat  exclu- 
sive and  despotic  influence  which  the  writings  of  Paul  exer- 
cise over  the  majority  of  the  Protestant  world,  we  must 
take  into  consideration  a  variety  of  facts.  Paul's  writings 
are  argumentative,  and  Protestantism,  in  coming  out  of  the 


THE    APOSTLE    PAUL.  51 

errors  of  the  past  and  remonstrating  against  them,  necessa- 
rily lives  and  moves  and  has  its  being  in  controversy.  Then 
the  vitality  of  Paul  was  great ;  great  in  his  person,  great  in 
his  mission,  and  great  in  history.  He  has  none  of  the  Ori- 
ental repose.  Paul  never  could  be  imagined  as  the  father 
of  monkery.  The  Protestant  and  American  age,  therefore, 
with  all  its  energy,  inventiveness,  and  restless  progress,  finds 
itself  mirrored  in  him  as  its  congenial  representative.  His 
vast  circumference  of  intellectual  vision,  and  the  strange 
contrast  of  his  spiritual  experiences,  that  seemed  to  be  al- 
most too  many  to  be  comprehended  in  the  life  of  one  man, 
place  him  in  contact  at  innumerable  points  of  sympathy 
with  the  many-minded  soul  of  Protestantism.  He  is  decid- 
ed, and  perhaps  sometimes  borders  on  dogmatism,  though 
he  gives  sufficient  scope  to  the  speculative  faculty.  And 
those  very  qualities  which,  to  our  minds,  mar  himx  as  an 
image  of  absolute  perfection,  make  him  all  the  more  the 
Apostle  of  a  peremptory,  doctrinal,  and  yet  inquisitive  age. 
His  zealous  and  practical  characteristics  also,  his  earnest 
exhortations  and  rousing  appeals,  are  much  in  harmony 
with  modern  religious  methods,  and  especially  with  that 
great  moral  crusade  in  which  Christendom  is  now  precipi- 
tating itself  upon  the  heathen  world.  Paul  the  man  of  facts 
and  of  business,  Paul  the  itinerant  preacher,  Paul  the  trav- 
eller from  city  to  city  and  country  to  country,  Paul  the 
writer  of  epistles  to  the  churches  and  calls  for  contributions 
of  charity,  Paul  the  foreign  missionary,  must  excite  unusual 
interest  in  an  age  of  locomotion,  philanthropy,  and  missions. 
He  has,  as  we  most  firmly  believe,  been  marvellously  misin- 
terpreted, looked  at,  so  to  speak,  microscopically  rather  than 
telescopically,  and  of  course  made  to  preach  doctrines 
which  he  never  held,  and  the  incipient  element  of  which  in 
the  Christian  Church  it  was  one  of  the  leading  aims  of  his 
letters  to  extinguish.     Still,  in  certain  preliminary  and  infe- 


52  THE    APOSTLE    PAUL. 

rior  stages  of  the  progi'ess  of  the  individual  and  of  mankind, 
we  can  easily  conceive  that  Paul,  with  his  highly-colored 
peculiarities,  would  exercise  a  more  potent  sway  than  Jesus 
Christ,  with  his  stainless  perfections.  Paul  was  chosen  to 
be  the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  and  the  Gentiles  make  up 
the  greater  part  of  the  world. 

We  believe  that  there  is  a  new  age  of  Christianity  to 
come,  when  they  who  have  been  so  long  striving,  as  did  the 
Twelve,  who  should  be  the  greatest,  will  return  to  Him  who 
is  the  greatest,  and  when  the  churches  of  the  Fathers  shall 
give  way  to  the  churches  of  the  Epistles  ;  and  the  churches 
of  the  Epistles  to  those  of  the  Gospels  ;  the  churches  of  the 
Apostles  to  the  Church  of  Christ.  Those  who  call  them- 
selves evangelical  would  be  better  characterized  as  epistoli- 
cal,  for  they  draw,  as  did  Luther  and  Calvin,  more  largely 
from  the  Epistles  than  from  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 
The  true  order  is  Patristical,  Apostolical,  Christian.  The 
reform  which  still  remains  unaccomplished  in  theology  is  to 
recede  from  the  commentaries  of  his  followers  to  the  text 
and  spirit  of  the  Infallible  Teacher. 

But  if  we  complain  of  the  errors  of  interpretation,  it  de- 
volves upon  us  to  show  why  and  how  all  was  obscure,  and 
how  it  happens  that  he  who  said,  "  In  the  Church  I  had 
rather  speak  five  words  with  my  understanding  that  I  might 
teach  others  also,  than  ten  thousand  words  in  an  unknown 
tongue,"  should  furnish  in  his  own  writings  the  chief  de- 
batable region  of  theological  controversy. 

In  the  first  place,  if  Paul  was  an  Apostle  of  Inspiration, 
he  was  also  a  being  of  impulse.  His  genius  was  regulated 
not  by  rule,  but  it  swayed  and  vibrated  under  a  powerful 
enthusiasm  of  a  healthful  description.  In  rhetoric,  he  can- 
'not  conclude  one  figure  of  speech  before  he  enters  upon 
another.  He  is  full  of  allusions,  suggestions,  and  hints,  and 
is  dramatic  without  marking  distinctly  the  changes  of  the 


THE    APOSTLE    PAUL.  53 

dialogue.  In  logic,  his  power  of  argument  is  unquestion- 
able, but  a  clew  is  needed  to  guide  us  through  the  labyrinth, 
where  aisles  and  side  passages  are  constantly  diverging 
from  the  main  corridor.  Paul  is  abrupt,  emotional,  paren- 
thetical ;  he  makes  rapid  transitions  and  obscure  intima- 
tions, and  repeats  in  one  connection  what  he  has  said  in 
another.  He  reasons,  allegorizes,  narrates,  and  exhorts,  in 
the  same  breath,  and  makes  his  page,  not  a  homogeneous 
texture,  but  a  rich  mosaic.  And  like  the  ancient  orators 
and  philosophers,  in  general,  he  writes  informally  and  un- 
systematically  ;  not  announcing  his  subject  and  its  divisions 
when  he  begins,  nor  marking  the  successive  stages  of  its 
advancement,  nor  pausing  to  recapitulate  when  he  is  done. 
We  can  conceive  a  close  logical  thinker,  a  severe  legal  un- 
derstanding, a  profound  and  far-sighted  intellect,  taking 
great  pleasure  in  unravelling  the  tangled  skein  of  his  dis- 
course, and  in  following  the  one  consecutive  thread  of  his 
argumentation,  until  it  should  be  confessed,  what  we  be- 
lieve to  be  true,  that  the  last  charge  that  can  be  sustained 
against  the  Apostle  is,  that  he  is  a  loose  and  illogical  writer. 
If  he  break  the  rules  of  composition,  it  is  to  follow  the 
higher  laws  of  his  own  transcendent  intellect. 

Then  his  writings  are  all  epistolary.  Judging  by  his 
speeches  reported  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  his  oral  dis- 
course was  sufficiently  intelligible.  But  a  letter  is  necessa- 
rily a  blind  composition  except  to  the  correspondents  them- 
selves. It  refers  to  many  things  known  only  to  the  parties 
concerned,  is  filled  with  obscure  allusions,  and  takes  many 
points  for  granted.  It  is  unexpected  in  its  transitions,  in- 
formal in  its  statements,  bold  in  its  liberties,  familiar  and 
personal  in  its  illustrations,  careless  in  its  diction,  and  loose 
in  its  arrangement  of  topics  ;  a  production  written  on  the 
spur  of  the  moment,  rather  than  by  mature  study  and 
careful   review,    and    often    most    successful    as    a    letter 

5* 


54  THE    APOSTLE    PAUL. 

when  least  capable  of  being  classed  with  any  other  com- 
position. 

In  writing  to  public  bodies,  as  he  generally  did,  Paul  es- 
capes some  of  the  infelicities  of  the  epistolary  style,  and 
raises  his  letters  more  into  the  rank  of  set  treatises.  His 
subject,  too,  the  wonderful  new  religion,  and  his  object,  the 
conversion  to  the  Gospel  of  all  mankind,  imparted  of  course 
a  gravity  and  dignity  not  common  to  ordinary  correspond- 
ence. His  salutations  are  Christian  gi'eetings,  and  his 
compliments,  exhortations  to  love  and  good  works.  He  is 
lyrical,  percussive,  impassioned,  and  at  times  satirical,  but 
all  in  earnestness  and  good  nature,  and  all  the  filaments  of 
the  discourse  are  woven  into  a  complete  whole.  With  the 
principles  he  held,  and  the  end  he  had  in  view,  the  letters 
of  Paul  are  works  of  artistic  beauty,  and  full  of  unity  and 
life.  They  are  the  flower  of  his  genius,  dashed  with  a 
heavenly  odor,  and  imbued  with  a  quick  contagion  to  all 
true  souls  of  like  divine  sentiments.  They  burn,  they  glow, 
they  are  warm  and  heaving  with  life-blood. 

Besides  these  qualities  of  an  informal  style  and  an  im- 
passioned soul,  the  Epistles  have  the  length,  the  stress  of 
argument,  and  the  range  of  thought,  essential  to  works  of  a 
larger  calibre.  For  whatever  Paul  did  must  bear  the  stamp 
of  a  strong  and  earnest  nature.  He  was  not  one  to  trifle 
or  bandy  words  with  friend  or  foe,  but  threw  his  whole  soul 
into  every  thought  and  action.  The  bright  blade  of  his  fal- 
chion is  always  unsheathed.  His  mind  is  ever  at  its  full 
tension.  Hence  his  letters,  though  written  for  a  transient 
purpose,  bore  his  spirit  like  a  rushing  wind  to  distant  cities, 
and  diffused  it  throughout  humanity.  He  alludes,  in  one 
instance,  to  the  weightiness  of  his  epistles,  as  not  being 
matched  by  the  authority  of  his  personal  presence.  But 
none  except  himself  has  disparaged  his  oral  address.  His 
discourses  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  are  full  of  beauty  and 


THE    APOSTLE    PAUL.  65 

power,  and  we  read  of  the  effects  of  his  eloquence,  when, 
standing  as  a  defenceless  prisoner  before  the  proud  and  titled 
of  the  earth,  "  he  reasoned  of  righteousness,  temperance, 
and  judgment  to  come." 

We  must  remember,  likewise,  that  all  was  not  as  clear  to 
the  Apostle,  though  miraculously  illuminated,  as  to  those 
who  have  lived  later,  and  possessed  in  Christian  history  the 
key  of  interpretation.  We  behold  the  Gospel  in  its  diffu- 
sion, he  beheld  it  in  its  cradle.  Though  less  subjective  than 
the  other  Apostles,  he  might  be  said  to  be  too  near  the  ob- 
ject to  see  it  well.  Granted  that  he  was  a  prophet,  yet  it  is 
one  of  the  conceded  points  of  his  office,  that  he  does  not 
fally  comprehend  the  burden  and  bearing  of  his  own  predic- 
tions. Granted  that  he  was  inspired,  yet  inspiration  is  help, 
not  substitution  ;  a  gift  of  degrees  ;  and  it  is  not  of  univer- 
sal infallibility  any  more  than  it  is  of  absolute  sinlessness, 
and  does  not  forego  individual  thought,  style,  argument,  and 
illustration.  Paul  again  and  again  announces  himself  as 
speaking  as  a  man,  as  well  as  from  the  Lord.  He  is  evi- 
dently and  professedly  his  own  free  agent,  as  well  as  the 
servant  of  Jesus  Christ ;  the  personal  pronoun  often  occurs 
in  his  writings,  and  he  utters  himself,  not  with  a  servile  dic- 
tation forced  upon  his  mind,  but  with  a  truth-seeking  aspi- 
ration rising  from  it.  He  drew  the  water  of  life  from  the 
fountains  of  his  own  being,  though  those  fountains  were  as 
the  rock  in  the  desert  until  smitten  by  a  divine  rod,  and  bit- 
ter as  those  of  Marah  until  sweetened  by  the  branch  of 
Christian  charity. 

In  reviewing  the  actions  and  writings  of  historical  charac- 
ters, we  are  too  prone  to  imagine  that  they  judge  themselves 
from  our  point  of  view  instead  of  their  own.  We  attribute 
to  them  an  anticipation  of  all  that  has  since  befallen  them 
of  fame  and  influence.  We  do  not  sufficiently  consider, 
that  to  them,  as  to  us  now,  the  future  spread  out  a  cloudy 


56  •  THE    APOSTLE    PAUL. 

curtain  ;  or  if,  as  in  the  case  of  prophet  and  apostle,  they 
could  discern  the  faint  shadows  of  events  to  come,  yet  their 
perspective  was  very  imperfect.  Time,  that  brought  the  ful- 
filment, must  also  bring  the  explanation.  There  is  no  reason 
to  suppose  that  Paul  foresaw  that  his  Epistles  would  con- 
stitute more  than  a  third  part  of  the  permanent  Scriptures 
"of  the  Christian  Church.  Many  believe,  and  not  without 
plausible  reasons,  that  he  viewed  the  catastrophe  of  all 
things  as  then  impending,  and  that  his  own  were  some  of 
the  last  zealous  words  that  would  be  spoken  to  arouse  dor- 
mant consciences.  Paul  gives  no  intimation  of  having  fore- 
seen Christian  Europe  and  Christian  America.  Much  less, 
probably,  did  he  suspect  that  the  hurried  and  impassioned 
letters  which  he  dictated  in,  the  intervals  snatched  from  tent- 
making,  travelling,  and  preaching,  and  which  bore  the  form 
and  imperfection  of  the  hour  in  some  respects,  would  be 
exalted  into  permanency  and  universality,  and  that  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  languages  at  the  end  of  twenty  centuries 
would  repeat  his  exhortations  and  arguments  to  all  the 
tribes  of  men.  He  wrote,  if  we  may  say  so,  instinctively, 
rather  than  intentionally.  As  he  himself  said,  "necessity 
was  laid  upon  him,"  and  a  zeal,  all  absorbing  and  unselfish, 
urged  him  onward.  Thus  writing  for  the  time,  he  has 
doubtless  written  the  best  for  all  times,  though,  had  he  fore- 
seen his  fortune  as  an  author  as  well  as  an  Apostle,  he 
would  probably  have  re-edited  his  letters,  to  use  the  modern 
phrase.  But  it  is  well  that  he  did  not  know  the  boundless 
sphere  of  his  influence,  for  it  might  have  proved  a  disturbing 
cause  even  to  his  apostolic  singleness  of  heart.  It  is  well 
that  the  great  do  not  ever  anticipate  at  the  moment  the 
consequences  that  are  to  flow  from  their  words  and  deeds. 
With  all  their  obscurities,  therefore,  the  Epistles  accomplish 
a  greater  mission  for  universal  humanity,  because  they  speak 
so   individually  to   Timothy  and   Philemon,   Romans  and 


THE    APOSTLE    PAUL.  57 

Ephesians.  The  cases  of  his  churches  in  fact  generalized 
the  world.  But  being  "  Tracts  for  the  Times,"  and  all  the 
better  for  that  reason,  we  must  not  complain  that  these  let- 
ters contain  some  riddles  when  read  in  our  times.  Paul  had 
in  his  mind,  when  he  wrote,  men  and  women  living  in  a 
totally  different  state  of  society  from  the  present,  and  the 
whole  warp  and  woof  of  whose  social  and  traditional  exist- 
ence were  otherv\dse  compounded  and  colored.  It  is  in- 
deed wonderful  that,  in  this  view,  while  the  form  and  occa- 
sion of  the  Apostle's  works  were  thus  peculiar  and  tempo- 
rary, their  spirit  is  so  central,  and  their  adaptation  so  com- 
prehensive and  eternal. 

Another  cause  of  obscurity  lies  in  the  controversial  char- 
acter of  the  Epistles.  We  have  not  the  statements  of  the 
other  side,  except  by  implication.  We  are  obliged  to  read 
Paul's  opponents  through  Paul.  Most  of  that  world  of 
thought  and  manners  which  Paul  had  in  his  eye,  which 
shaped  his  arguments,  gave  complexion  to  his  style,  fired 
his  enthusiasm,  and  aroused  his  energy,  is  irrevocably  dead 
and  buried,  and  not  even  the  best  trained  and  most  creative 
moral  and  historical  imagination  can  raise  it  again  to  life. 
We  have  glimpses  here  and  there  of  customs  and  characters 
then  prevalent,  and  of  the  agitating  questions  of  the  Church, 
but  they  are  pale  and  ghost-like.  If  the  Apostle  were  hard 
to  be  understood  in  his  own  day,  and  his  reasonings  began 
so  early  to  be  wrested  to  prove  another  doctrine  than  he  in- 
tended, how  significant  was  that  fact  of  the  fortune  of  sub- 
sequent ages,  when  whole  systems  of  theology  would  be 
built  upon  his  authority,  that  are  alien  to  his  spirit ! 

We  are  not  inclined,  again,  to  make  sufficient  allowance 
for  the  barrenness  of  language  at  that  period  for  communi- 
cating such  truths  as  Jesus  and  his  Apostles  taught.  The 
Hebrew  tongue  was  very  limited  in  its  vocabulary,  and  stiff 
and  circumscribed  in  its  idioms.     The   Greek,  though  in 


58  THE    APOSTLE    PAUL. 

some  respect  the  most  perfect  of  languages,  had  yet  sprmig 
from  a  people  rather  volatile  and  witty  than  spiritually- 
minded,  and  more  aesthetic  than  moral.  And  the  Jewish 
Greek,  or  Hellenistic  dialect,  though  richer  than  either  He- 
brew or  Greek  alone  for  the  purposes  of  the  sacred  writers, 
was  yet  too  confined  and  sensuous  to  give  a  distinct  and 
luminous  outline  to  that  new  cast  of  moral  thought,  and 
those  higher  spiritual  conceptions,  which  it  was  the  mission 
of  Paul  to  introduce  into  the  Gentile  world.  Old  words 
must  be  filled  with  a  new  sense.  Old  idioms  must  dilate 
with  a  grander  style  of  spiritual  imagination.  Hence  we 
often  feel  that  the  writer  was  obliged  to  resort  to  circumlo- 
cutions, and  multiplicity  of  terms  and  sentences,  to  do  him- 
self justice,  and  that  his  language  sometimes  breaks  down 
under  the  weight  of  his  thoughts.  Then  the  translation 
into  English  has  still  further  complicated  the  difliculties  of 
language.  Paul,  though  rendered  in  the  tongue  of  Shake- 
speare and  Milton,  is  obscure,  with  the  best  helps  of  modern 
criticism.  But  we  can  easily  imagine,  that,  if  he  had  origi- 
nally possessed  such  a  rich  and  powerful  instrument  of 
spiritual  expression  as  the  English  or  German  of  our  day, 
the  demands  of  so  many-sided  and  profound  a  soul  as  that 
of  Paul  to  defend  and  embody  itself  in  words  would  have 
been  more  adequately  supplied. 

From  these  remarks  upon  the  general  obscurity  of  the 
Apostle,  we  would  descend  to  some  specific  points  in  which 
he  has  been,  as  we  think,  greatly  misunderstood.  Unhappy 
Paul,  crucified  in  the  body  in  his  day,  crucified  in  the  spirit 
in  ours  !  He  is  constantly  made  to  prove  what  he  never 
believed,  to  uphold  what  he  spent  himself  in  overthrowing, 
and  quoted  continually  as  authority  for  sentiments  on  which 
he  would  have  bestowed  a  hearty  anathema  maranatha. 
Cant  recites,  witli"  measured  tone  and  dogmatic  purpose, 
sentences  that  came  glowing  in  a  white  heat  from  his  ardent 


THE    APOSTLE    PAUL.  59 

soul.  Bigotry  is  intent  upon  digging  up  the  flowers  which 
he  planted  to  adorn  the  garden  of  God,  to  find  some  root  of 
bitterness.  Theologians  express  their  ideas  in  his  words, 
rather  than  his  ideas  in  thek  words.  The  most  free  from 
technical  or  philosophical  limitation  of  any  of  the  \\T:iters  of 
the  New  Testament,  unless  it  be  John,  recasting  the  Gospel 
in  his  own  forms  of  phraseology,  Paul  is  the  last  man  to  be 
quoted  to  justify  any  sort  of  exclusiveness  or  uncharitable- 
ness  in  religion,  or  to  tie  down  all  the  world  to  the  same 
formularies  of  faith,  worship,  and  works.  A  freely  living 
and  a  freely  moving  soul,  airing  himself  in  the  atmosphere 
of  different  countries  and  continents,  conversant  with  the 
works  of  God  and  the  philosophies  of  men,  touching  at  one 
point  the  culture  of  the  intellectual  Greek,  and  at  the  other 
that  of  the  believing  Hebrew,  commissioned  to  proclaim 
and  establish  in  new  regions  so  loving  and  liberal  a  system 
as  the  Gospel,  love  from  God,  and  good-will  to  men,  with 
his  bosom  heaving  in  sympathetic  beatings  to  every  pain 
and  wrong  of  the  race,  and  with  his  tears  flowing  like  a 
fountain  whenever  ill  betided  any  portion  of  the  Church, 
P;iul  is  made  to  utter  a  language  at  variance  with  every 
emotion  of  his  heart,  and  every  purpose  of  his  life,  when 
he  is  interpreted  as  the  teacher  of  doctrines  inconsistent 
with  the  fatherly  character  of  God,  condemnatory  of  human 
nature,  and  darkening  its  destiny  here  and  hereafter.  Paul 
has  given  us,  not  a  body  of  divinity,  rigid  and  narrow,  but 
a  soul,  and  that  soul  consists  in  faith,  hope,  and  charity. 
With  what  amazement  would  he  have  looked  upon  the 
spectacle  of  modern  textual  theology !  With  what  severity 
would  he  have  lashed  that  principle  of  interpretation  that 
can  at  one  time  torture  out  of  his  WTitings  justifications 
for  exclusive  creeds  and  persecuting  churches,  and  at  an- 
other, licenses  for  social  inhumanity  and  public  wi'ong ! 
Would  he  recognize,  indeed,  and  own  as  his  writings,  those 


60  THE    APOSTLE    PAUL. 

epistles,  crumbled  up,  almost  without  regard  to  connection, 
into  chapters  and  verses,  compacted  sentences  divided  and 
subdivided  into  separate  propositions,  sometimes  mistrans- 
lated, and  shaded  with  the  expressions  and  biases  of  a  dark 
age  of  society  and  theology,  —  when  read,  read  piecemeal, 
as  if  constituting  a  charm,  not  a  composition,  —  and  when 
quoted,  quoted  in  fragments,  broken  from  their  place  and 
connection,  to  point  a  sentence  or  prop  up  a  doctrine,  as  if 
they  were  independent  proverbs,  not  closely  jointed  limbs 
of  a  living  and  inseparable  body  ?  There  is  no  part  of  the 
Sacred  Scriptures  so  much  injured  by  this  mode  of  treat- 
ment as  the  long  sentences  and  close  argumentation  of  the 
Apostle  Paul.  No  book  but  one  so  potent  and  vital  as  the 
Bible  could  survive  for  any  considerable  time  such  a  Me- 
dean  process.  As  it  is,  a  new  translation  can  hardly  be  ex- 
pected that  will  secure  so  generally  the  suffrages  of  the 
Protestant  sects  in  England  and  America  as  the  imperfect 
one  of  King  James's  reign.  But  in  the  mean  time,  para- 
graph Bibles,  and  editions  with  here  and  there  an  explana- 
tory note  in  the  margin,  like  those  of  Shakespeare  and  other 
English  classics,  to  say  nothing  of  commentaries,  might  do 
something  to  remove  the  veil  from  these  glorious  works. 
The  Epistles  are  a  mine  still  to  be  worked,  and  capable  of 
yielding  new  supplies  to  the  golden  currency  of  truth. 

One  very  important  question  in  regard  to  these  writings 
is,  whether  they  really  make  any  essential  doctrinal  addition 
to  the  Christian  Religion,  or  not.  They  no  doubt  contribute 
many  new  illustrations,  applications,  and  developments  of 
the  truth,  but  do  they  impart  what  is  absolutely  new,  and 
what  cannot  be  found  in  the  Gospels  and  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles?  On  this  subject  theologians  have  differed,  but 
even  those  who  take  the  negative  still  concede  a  species  of 
new  revelation  to  Paul,  inasmuch  as  he  gives  more  fully 
than  any  other  the  philosophical  explanation  of  the  conclud- 


THE    APOSTLE    PAUL.  61 

ing  facts  in  the  life  of  Jesus,  the  crucifixion,  resurrection, 
and  ascension,  and  his  posthumous  influence  upon  his 
Church.  Macknight,  one  of  the  most  moderate  and  candid 
of  critics,  speaks  as  follows  :  "  With  respect  to  the  Gospels 
and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  let  it  be  remarked,  that,  while 
the  gi-eatest  regard  is  dne  to  them,  especially  to  the  Gospels, 
because  they  contain  the  words  of  Christ  himself,  we  are 
not  in  them  to  look  for  the  full  account  of  the  Gospel 
scheme.  Their  professed  design  is  to  give,  not  a  complete 
history  of  our  religion,  but  the  history  of  its  Founder,  and  of 
that  illustrious  display  he  made  of  his  glory  as  the  Son  of 
God  and  Saviour  of  the  world,  together  with  an  account 
of  the  spreading  of  the  Gospel  after  our  Lord's  ascension. 
The  Gospel  doctrine  is  to  be  found  complete  only  in  the 
Epistles,  where  it  is  exhibited  with  great  accuracy  by  the 
Apostle  to  whom  the  Holy  Ghost  revealed  it  as  Christ  had 
promised."  Other  commentators  and  divines  avow  the 
same  remarkable  theory,  and  the  spirit  of  it  has  widely 
vitiated  the  theology  of  many  centuries. 

We  believe,  on  the  other  hand,  that  Paul  was  not  a  re- 
vealer,  but  an  analyzer,  applier,  commentator,  of  the  Gospel. 
He  philosophized  about  its  facts  and  truths,  but  he  did  not 
originate  a  single  essential  one.  If  any  distinct  principle  of 
Christianity  were  disclosed  in  the  Epistles  alone,  we  should 
regard  it  as  a  matter  of  great  wonder,  if  not  of  questionable 
authority.  We  cannot  believe,  with  Bolingbroke,  that  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  is  one  thing  ;  and  that  the  Gospel  of  Paul, 
and  of  all  those  who  have  grafted  after  him  on  the  same 
stock,  is  another.  But  if  the  doctrines  of  grace,  so  called, 
do  depend  solely  or  chiefly  upon  the  words  of  Paul,  then  we 
submit  that  they  occupy  a  secondary,  and  not  a  primary, 
place  in  Christian  theology.  That  Jesus  should  be  born 
and  sent  into  the  world  to  bear  witness  to  the  truth,  and 
should  leave  that  truth  unspoken,  and  that  it  should  devolve 


62  THE    APOSTLE    PAUL. 

on  one  who  had  not  been  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  his  Mas- 
ter's personal  intercourse  and  instructions,  but  converted 
from  the  ranks  of  his  enemies,  to  consummate  the  glorious 
design,  is  utterly  incredible.  We  believe  the  character  of 
God,  and  of  his  Son,  the  need  of  the  Gospel,  and  all  its 
leading  features,  its  succession  to  Judaism,  and  its  univer- 
sality for  the  race,  are  all  taught  in  the  Gospels  and  Acts 
of  the  Apostles.  The  miracles,  parables,  and  conversations 
of  our  Lord  are  not  distinctly  dwelt  upon,  though  they  are 
referred  to  by  Paul,  but  the  primal  truths  which  underlie  them 
are  the  basis  of  his  every  argument  and  exhortation.  If  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  the  total  depravity  of  human  nature, 
justification  by  faith,  election,  effectual  grace,  and  the  final 
perseverance  of  the  saints,  or  any  other  dogma,  were  actually 
to  be  found  in  Paul,  we  should  regard  it  as  wonderful  in- 
deed that  our  Saviour  had  not  even  lisped  of  it  in  his  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount,  his  commission  to  the  Twelve  or  to  the 
Seventy,  his  parables,  or  his  farewell  discourses  and  prayers 
with  his  disciples.  But  the  proof-texts  which  are  employed 
to  defend  the  above  doctrines  are  more  largely  drawn  from 
the  Epistles  of  Paul  than  from  other  portions  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. The  Apostle  settled  some  controversies,  but  he  has 
originated  many  more.  For  the  sake  of  maintaining  the 
value  of  tradition,  the  Roman  Catholics  and  the  Puseyites 
contend  that  the  doctrine  of  the^Trinity  cannot  be  upheld 
on  the  authority  of  the  New  Testament  alone.  The  Fathers 
must  be  brought  in  to  complete  the  structure  which  the 
Apostles  left  unfinished.  Were  that  ground  tenable,  it  is 
evident  that,  so  far  as  you  thus  sti*engthen  tradition,  you 
really  weaken  the  word  of  God.  It  is  a  dangerous  conces- 
sion to  make  respecting  any  Christian  doctrine,  that  it  is 
defensible  upon  some  other  grounds  than  those  of  the  Bible. 
And  so  we  may  say  of  Calvinism,  that  if  it  be,  as  some  say, 
in  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  but  not  in  the  discourses  of  Christ, 


THE    APOSTLE    PAUL.  63 

SO  much  the  worse  for  Calvinism,  to  say  nothing  of  Paul. 
It  is  pretty  conclusive  evidence  that  Christianity  and  Cal- 
vinism are  discordant  systems.  But  we  hold  that  there  is 
no  such  unfortunate  clashing  of  authorities ;  that  the  New 
Testament  is  a  homogeneous  book ;  that  all  its  witnesses 
yield  a  harmonious  testimony,  and  that  the  Gospel  is  one 
and  the  same  in  essence,  though  differently  cast  and  colored 
in  passing  through  finite  minds,  and  that  the  Christianity 
of  Paul  is  easily  seen  to  be  identical  in  all  its  substantial 
with  the  Christianity  of  the  Evangelists. 

Dr.  Channing  justly  says,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend :  "  You 
must  show  that  the  passages  in  the  Epistles  which  are 
thought  to  teach  other  and  higher  docti-ines  than  Jesus 
taught  are  in  fact-  only  different  forms  of  the  same  truth,  — 
and  narrower  forms,  being  adaptations  of  it  to  a  particular 
age,  and  very  peculiar  state  of  the  Church.  As  long  as  men 
think  they  find  in  the  Epistles  great  principles  not  commu- 
nicated in  the  Gospels,  the  latter  will  pass  only  for  initia- 
tory teaching.  Here,  I  apprehend,  is  the  chief  use  of  Bib- 
lical criticism,  —  not  to  disclose  new  truths,  but  to  show 
that  the  darker  parts  of  the  New  Testament,  which  belong 
almost  wholly  to  the  Epistles,  contain  the  same  doctrine 
with  the  simple  and  luminous  teaching  of  Jesus."  * 

The  mistake  which  has  been  committed  in  relation  to  the 
doctrine  of  Justification  by  Faith  has  so  lately  been  exposed 
in  a  number  of  the  Christian  Examiner,  f  that  it  is  unneces- 
sary to  dwell  upon  it  further.  Paul's  doctrine  is  one  thing, 
an  amplification  in  fact  of  what  may  be  found  in  every 
verse  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  but  the  doctrine  which 
has  been  attributed  to  Paul  is  quite  another  thing.  In  fine, 
we  might  suppose  that  the  strongest  espousers  of  the  notion 
of  any  justification,  except  that  implied  in  the  superiority 

*  Memoir,  Vol.  n.  p.  416.  t  For  March,  1851. 


64  THE    APOSTLE    PAUL. 

of  the  spiritual  principle  in  Christianity  over  all  merely  legal, 
ceremonial,  or  habitual  rules,  was  sufficiently  demonstrated 
by  the  Apostle  himself.  If  Paul  preach  justification  by 
faith,  he  preaches  again  and  again  still  more  loudly  j  ustili- 
cation  by  charity ;  and  if  he  insist  upon  the  value  of  doc- 
trine in  his  discussions,  he  always  winds  up  his  Epistles 
with  the  most  spirit-stirring  exhortations  and  provocatives 
to  love  and  good  works,  as  if  the  destiny  of  a  thousand 
souls  depended  on  every  grace  and  virtue,  and  the  only  rea- 
sonable conclusion  to  the  whole  matter  was,  to  fear  God 
and  keep  his  commandments. 

That  the  Election  of  Paul  is  not  anything  more  than  the 
election  of  Christ,  or  the  election,  in  fact,  of  nature,  or  life, 
we  believe,  is  substantiated,  not  by  any  stiff  and  formal  the- 
ory, that  cuts  the  knots  it  cannot  untie,  but  by  the  necessary 
and  rational  interpretation  of  language.  If  we  please  to  re- 
sort to  a  theology  of  texts,  and  bits  of  patchwork,  and  be- 
lieve that  "  figures  of  speech  are  the  pillars  of  the  Church," 
we  can  prove  anything  and  believe  everything.  But  if  we 
take  into  view  the  broad  and  general  tenor  of  the  Apostle's 
teachings,  we  shall  see  him  vindicating  with  seraphic  fire 
the  impartiality,  not  the  exclusiveness,  of  the  Divine  admin- 
istration, and  that,  if  God  diversified  men's  external  privi- 
leges, he  made  those  most  favored  with  spiritual  advantages 
the  more  responsible  trustees  of  such  benefits  for  the  good 
of  all.  The  election  of  Paul  is  like  the  election  of  Provi- 
dence, by  which  birth,  nation,  age,  clime,  color,  are  deter- 
mined for  us,  or  by  which  the  painter,  the  poet,  the  artisan, 
are  by  the  natural  faculties  of  their  minds  predestinated  to 
their  several  offices.  He  made  the  doctrine,  not  one  of 
ease,  but  of  energy  ;  not  of  final  condition,  but  of  interme- 
diate privilege  ;  and  he  does  not  put  his  own  case,  sealed 
and  illustrated  as  it  apparently  was  by  the  most  explicit 
Divine  authentication,  beyond  the  possibility  of  his  being  a 
castaway. 


THE    APOSTLE    PAUL.  65 

And  in  relation  to  that  capital  article  of  modern  theology, 
the  Atonement,  it  is  remarkable  how  little  the  fact  has  been 
taken  notice  of,  that,  while  the  Apostle  lays  great  stress 
upon  the  death  of  Christ,  or,  to  use  the  vivid  and  speaking 
metaphor,  "  his  blood,"  he  lays  tenfold  more  emphasis  on 
the  resurrection  of  Christ,  as  the  controlling  evidence  of  the 
truth  of  his  mission,"  as  the  life-giving  revelation  of  immor- 
tality. As  it  has  been  said  a  hundred  times,  and  must  be 
said  as  many  more,  the  word  atonement  occurs  but  once  in 
the  New  Testament  (Romans  v.  11),  and  there,  according 
to  uniform  usage,  it  should  be  rendered  reconciliation.  The 
modern  idea  of  the  Atonement  is  rebutted  on  every  leaf  and 
chapter  of  these  letters,  and  wherever  it  seems  to  find  any 
occasional  footing,  it  hangs  merely  upon  the  flowers  of  the 
Apostle's  branching  and  luxuriant  rhetoric,  and  constitutes 
no  part  of  the  essential  root  and  trunk  of  his  reasoning. 
We  believe  the  doctrine  in  question  subversive  of  the  natu- 
ral justice  of  God,  while  conflicting  at  every  point  with  that 
boundless  mercy  which  shines  as  a  central  sun  in  the  Gos- 
pel. The  expression,  "for  Christ's  sake,"  which  is  fre- 
quently used  in  prayers  and  graces,  and  is  designed  to  con- 
vey the  impression,  that  what  God  gives  to  man  he  gives, 
not  on  account  of  his  own  intrinsic  benevolence,  or  man's 
own  intrinsic  need,  but  on  account  of  what  Christ  has  done 
and  suffered  to  purchase  his  favorable  regards  to  a  rebel  and 
rejected  race,  also  occurs  but  once  in  the  Christian  Scrip- 
tm-es  (Ephesians  iv.  32),  and  should  by  every  principle  of  a 
uniform  translation  be  there  construed  in  or  through  Christ. 
The  idea  of  its  being  necessary  that  something  should  be 
done  or  suffisred  by  Christ,  in  order  to  render  it  consistent 
for  God  to  forgive  even  his  penitent  child,  is  the  master  idea 
of  the  Atonement,  and  there  is  not  a  vein  or  artery  in  the^ 
Protestant  body  which  has  not  been  more  or  less  tinged  by 
it.     The  doctrine  of  the  Atonement  is  the  main  post  in  the 

0* 


66  THE  APOSTLE  PAUL. 

battle-field  of  modem  controversy,  and  under  differing  forms, 
and  with  the  interest  either  of  adoption  or  of  denial,  it  com- 
mands the  range  of  theological  literature.  The  mode  of 
understanding  the  figurative  language  of  the  Scriptures,  on 
which  it  is  maintained,  would  equally  wxll  give  countenance 
to  the  doctrine  of  Transubstantiation  ;  and  let  it  be  added, 
that  the  theory  on  which  it  is  founded  perpetuates  the  sys- 
tem of  Jewish  exclusiveness,  with  this  single  gloomy  ad- 
dition, that,  unlike  that  temporal  system,  it  spreads  it  over 
the  vast  compass  of  man's  spiritual  being,  and  sends  it 
down  to  the  remotest  ages  of  futurity. 

It  is  not  a  little  singular,  that  the  wi'itings  which  so  often 
take  for  their  theme  the  liberty  of  Christ,  the  spiritual  eman- 
cipation from  the  letter  to  the  spirit,  the  universal  faith  of 
Jew  and  Gentile,  bond  and  free,  should  be  the  very  ones 
that  by  a  misunderstanding  are  employed  to  promulgate  the 
partial  and  limited  systems  of  Depravity,  Election,  and  the 
Atonement.  Who  indeed  would  recognize  in  the  systems 
of  Calvin  and  his  modifiers,  unyielding  as  iron,  and  fixed 
and  remorseless  as  fate,  the  tender  and  trembling  responsi- 
bility of  Paul,  the  charity  that  yearned  and  prayed  for  the 
worst,  and  cast  not  a  solitary  creature,  except  as  self-exiled 
and  self-condemned,  beyond  the  pale  of  mercy  ?  K  it  be 
doubted  whether  a  system  of  theology  can  be  essentially 
mutilated  by  the  process  of  adding  a  little  here,  and  sub- 
tracting a  little  there,  which  in  obedience  to  their  theories 
has  been  practised  by  the  gi-eat  doctors  of  Christendom  upon 
the  Epistles,  take  an  illustration  in  Hogarth's  picture  of 
Perspective.,  and  see  how  fatally  by  such  a  perversion  nature 
and  reality  may  be  driven  out  with  a  pitchfork  in  that  art 
which  represents  ideas  by  forms,  and  which  is  kindred  to 
that  which  represents  them  by  words. 

John  Keats  makes  a  distinction  between  great  men  and 
sublime  men.     Of  the  very  few  constituting  the  latter  class, 


THE    APOSTLE    PAUL.  67 

Paul  is  one.  He  was  a  sublime  man  in  his  nature.  Wher- 
ever he  lived,  and  whatever  position  he  might  occupy,  he 
would  leave  his  mark  upon  the  world,  broad,  peculiar,  and 
eternal.  He  possessed  that  immeasurable  might  of  will  and 
resource  of  soul,  which  make  one  stronger  than  a  million  of 
ordinary  capacity.  They  become  under  his  creative  and 
inventive  agency  as  clay  in  the  hands  of  the  potter.  They 
are  as  the  elementary  substance  through  which  his  electric 
energies  circulate.  In  the  true  census,  men  are  to  be 
weighed,  not  counted.  Genius  is  an  intellectual  gift,  but 
sublime  men  are  more  than  geniuses.  They  are  seers, 
prophets,  apostles,  founders  of  states,  fathers  of  their  coun- 
try, moral  and  spiritual  archetypes  of  new  eras  of  history, 
new  stages  of  man's  progress  towards  God.  This  class 
possess  genius,  but  their  genius  is  not  exclusive  ;  it  is  but 
one  element  of  that  august  assemblage  of  powers  by  which 
they  communicate  a  new  vital  force  to  the  dormant  mass 
of  humanity,  and  speak  the  work  of  genesis,  that  brings 
order  and  beauty  out  of  ages  of  darkness,  chaos,  and  de- 
spair. It  is  their  mighty  moral,  as  well  as  intellectual  power, 
which  makes  the  earth  gravitate  nearer  to  heaven,  and  man 
more  to  resemble  his  Maker.  To  genius,  to  a  superlative 
moral  nature,  Paul  added  the  more  transcendent  gifts  of 
inspiration.  Sublime  as  a  man,  he  became  still  more  sub- 
lime as  an  Apostle  of  Christ. 

Paul  was  sublime  in  his  life  and  actions.  His  history 
includes  contrasts  greater  than  those  of  any  romance.  Once 
a  persecutor  of  that  faith  of  which  he  afterwards  became  the 
very  chiefest  Apostle,  arrested  in  the  height  of  his  defiance 
by  the  voice  from  heaven  of  that  Master  for  whose  sake  he 
afterwards  died,  after  adding  suffering  to  suffering  and  labor 
to  labor  while  he  lived,  the  story  of  Paul,  were  we  not  so 
familiar  with  it  from  the  nursery,  would  be  read  as  the  most 
wonderful  of  biographies,  and  as  containing  at  once  the 


OS  THE    APOSTLE    PAUL. 

sublimity  of  epic,  and  the  pathos  of  tragic  life.  We  are  ac- 
customed to  estimate  these  subjects  so  exclusively  from  a 
devotional  and  conventional  point  of  view,  that  we  fail  to 
form  those  clear  critical  and  sesthetical  judgments  at  which 
we  arrive  in  estimating  other  questions  of  history  and  biog- 
raphy. The  scale  of  Paul's  enterprises  was  Titanic.  To 
change  the  religion  of  the  world  was  a  task  of  no  little  mag- 
nitude. His  actions  are  great,  like  his  plans,  —  great  in  con- 
ception, great  in  motive,  and  great  in  progress,  execution, 
and  result.  Anything  small,  mean,  or  unworthy  we  may 
be  sure  took  instant  flight  from  so  impressive  and  luminous 
a  presence.  Wherever  he  moves,  he  bears  with  him  the 
sceptre  of  unresisting  authority  and  godlike  beneficence. 
What  men  have  erroneously  called  boastings  were  but  the 
expressions  of  his  childlike  frankness,  and  the  uncalculating 
pouring  forth  of  that  love  which  only  asked  as  its  reward 
sympathy  in  return.  No  man  surpassed  Paul  in  candor, 
none  in  the  disinterestedness  of  his  motives.  Both  in  the 
quantity  and  the  quality  of  his  work,  his  life  rose  to  the  sub- 
lime. In  all  the  great  centres  of  the  old  nations,  at  the  head 
fountains  of  thought  and  influence,  Jerusalem,  Athens, 
Ephesus,  Corinth,  Rome,  he  was  present,  and  his  presence 
was  felt ;  he  spoke  a  word  that  stirred  the  world,  and  that 
word  was  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  the  sum  of  Divine  wisdom 
for  man.  Paul  awoke  revolutions,  organized  institutions, 
and  applied  Christianity  to  new  uses  and  adaptations,  and 
gathered  in  a  grand  unity  Jew  and  Gentile,  bond  and  free, 
in  one  Church.  Three  hundred  years  did  not  elapse  before 
the  cross  was  the  ensign  of  Rome,  when  Rom.e  was  the 
mistress  of  the  world.  And  to-day,  in  all  the  hundred  cap- 
itals of  the  nations,  in  a  hundred  different  tongues,  Paul  is 
read,  preached,  and  meditated  upon,  and  next  to  the  unap- 
proachable Master  impels  the  religious  thought  of  the  races 
and  the  ages. 


THE    APOSTLE    PAUL.  69 

Paul  is  sublime  in  his  writings  and  in  his  earthly  immor- 
tality. The  brightest  geniuses  pale  in  the  revolutions  of 
time.  Their  names  may  be  known  as  the  commonplaces 
of  history  and  literature,  but  their  ideas  have  grown  obso- 
lete, their  compositions  cease  to  instruct  and  charm ;  little 
by  little  they  die  out  of  the  memory  of  men,  and  they  trans- 
mit to  other  hands  the  sceptre  of  their  once  unquestioned 
dominion.  Their  works  are  as  the  fossils  of  an  earlier 
stratum  of  the  earth.  They  lie  in  dead  languages  and  on 
dusty  shelves,  read  by  a  handful  of  scholars,  but  retaining 
little  living  hold  upon  the  mind  of  the  civilized  world.  But 
it  is  the  glory  of  Paul,  as  it  is  of  a  greater  than  Paul,  to  win 
new  power  by  time,  to  add  as  years  and  centuries  pass  new 
subjects  to  his  faith,  new  provinces  to  his  empire.  The 
author  of  one  third  of  the  New  Testament,  the  preacher  of 
Christian  truth  to  mankind,  no  king  ever  had  so  wide  a 
sway,  no  kingdom  such  a  duration.  He  has  spoken  words 
that  have  thrilled  deeply,  and  will  thrill  for  ever,  the  soul  of 
man.  Coleridge  said,  "  I  think  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the 
Romans  the  most  profound  work  in  existence."*  Channing 
remarked,  "  We  cannot  but  consider  the  letters  of  Paul, 
with  all  their  abrupt  transitions  and  occasional  obscurities, 
as  more  striking  exhibitions  of  genuine  Christianity  than 
could  have  been  transmitted  by  the  most  labored  and  arti- 
ficial compositions."  f  It  is  in  the  words  of  Paul  that  Chris- 
tian devotion  offers  her  warmest  tribute  of  praise,  Christian 
joy  expresses  her  ecstasies,  and  Christian  sori'ow  finds  the 
charm  of  her  soothing  and  her  patience.  Paul  guides  and 
instructs  the  living,  comforts  the  sick  and  stricken,  and  opens 
upon  the  bed  of  death  the  bright  vistas  of  a  hope  shining 
down  from  heaven.  In  Paul,  Charity  found  a  tongue' to 
discourse  with  more  than  human  eloquence  of  her  beauties 

*  Table  Talk,  Vol.  II.  p.  100.  t  Memoir,  Vol.  I.  p.  380. 


70  THE    APOSTLE    PAUL. 

and  glories,  and  in  Paul  the  Resurrection  and  Life  Ever- 
lasting speak  in  a  tone  so  reasonable  and  so  majestic,  so 
convincing  to  the  understanding,  and  so  consolatory  to  the 
heart,  that  even  at  the  mouth  of  the  grave,  where  we  com- 
mit "  earth  to  earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to  dust,"  Faith 
seizes  the  extinguished  torch  of  life,  lights  it  anew  at  her 
altar,  and  leads  the  way  through  the  dark  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death  with  a  hope  built  in  heaven  and  full  of 
immortality. 


ESSAY     IV. 

THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL   TO   THE   KOMANS. 

Though  first  in  the  order  of  the  Epistles,  the  letter  to  the 
Romans  is  not  probably  the  first  in  time.  The  Apostle  is 
supposed  to  have  \vritten  more  than  half  of  his  epistles  to 
the  churches  before  this  date.  But  the  reasons  of  its  being 
placed  in  the  forefront  were,  that  it  was  addressed  to  the 
Christians  in  the  chief  city  of  the  world,  that  it  was  the  long- 
est one,  and  the  most  important  in  doctrine  and  exhortation. 
So  highly,  indeed,  was  it  valued  in  the  history  of  the  Church, 
that  it  was  called  the  INIarrow  of  Divinity,  the  Key  of  the 
New  Testament,  the  Christian  Chm-ch's  Confession,  the 
Most  Divine  Epistle  of  the  Most  Holy  Apostle. 

This  Epistle  was  undoubtedly  written  at  Corinth,  be- 
cause Gains,  who  is  here  spoken  of  as  his  host  (Romans 
xvi.  23),  was  baptized  by  Paul  at  Corinth  (1  Corinthians  i. 
14),  and  because  Phoebe,  who  is  commended  to  the  Roman 
church,  and  was  probably  the  bearer  of  the  letter  to  Rome, 
was  deaconess  of  the  church  of  Cenchrea  (Romans  xvi.  1), 
the  port  of  Corinth,  and  a  few  miles  distant  from  that 
city.  The  Apostle  also  mentions  Erastus  as  the  chamber- 
lain of  the  city  (Romans  xvi.  23 ;  compare  2  Timothy  iv. 
20),  and  Corinth  was  a  city  of  high  rank,  and  the  capital  of 
Achaia. 

The  Apostle  made  two  separate  visits  at  Corinth,  the  first 
of  about  a  year  and  a  half  in  duration  (Acts  xviii.  1, 11),  and 
the  second  of  about  three  months  (Acts  xx.  2,  3).  By  as 
accurate  a  comparison  of  the  dates  of  his  journeys  as  can 
well  be  made  at  the  present  day,  in  the  absence  of  a  specific 


72  THE    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    TO    THE    ROMANS. 

chronology,  Paul  is  conjectured  to  have  wnritten  the  Epistle 
to  the  Romans  about  the  year  58  of  our  Lord. 

There  is  no  valid  ground  for  the  belief  of  the  Roman 
Catholics,  that  the  church  at  Rome  was  founded  by  the 
Apostle  Peter,  or  for  the  inference  from  it,  that,  because 
Christ  said  to  Peter,  "  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,"  and  "  Upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my 
Church,"  therefore  the  Church  of  Rome  is  entitled  to  hold 
supremacy  over  the  other  churches  of  the  world,  which  may 
be  far  superior  to  her.  For  where  Peter  is  spoken  of  in  Eu- 
sebius,  as  the  founder  of  the  church,  it  is  conjointly  with 
Paul,  and  the  probability  is,  that  in  both  cases  it  is  to  be 
understood  of  the  subsequent  establishment  and  enlarge- 
ment of  the  Church  rather  than  of  the  original  foundation. 

Who  was  the  real  founder  of  the  church  at  Rome,  is  a 
question  to  which  no  confident  answer  can  now  be  given. 
"  The  strangers  of  Rome,"  spoken  of  in  Acts  ii.  10,  may 
have  carried  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  to  the  capital  of  the 
world.  The  Christian  brethren  and  sisters  spoken  of  so 
affectionately  by  Paul  (Romans  xvi.  3-16)  were  no  doubt 
actively  engaged  in  promoting  the  cause  of  Christianity,  if 
they  were  not  the  prime  movers.  But  that  the  Church  of 
Rome  was  not  originally  founded  by  an  Apostle  is  strongly 
to  be  inferred  from  Romans  xv.  20-22,  where  Paul  expressly 
lays  it  down  as  one  of  the  fixed  principles  upon  which  he 
proceeded  in  his  apostolic  labors  and  missions,  not  to  inter- 
fere with  another  man's  work,  or  build  on  another  man's 
foundation. 

The  genuineness  of  this  Epistle  as  the  ^\^:iting  of  the 
Apostle  Paul  rests  upon  the  following  testimonies.  It  pur- 
ports to  be  his  work,  and  has  his  name  attached  to  it.  The 
voice  of  antiquity,  both  historical  and  ti-aditional,  pro- 
nounces Paul  as  the  author.  Then  the  internal  evidences 
are   numerous  and  conclusive  that  he  wrote  the   Epistle. 


THE    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    TO    THE    ROMANS.  73 

The  style,  cast  of  thought,  moral  characteristics,  all  belong 
to  him.  The  undesigned  coincidences  between  the  history 
of  Paul  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  the  allusions  in  the 
Epistle,  have  been  developed  in  a  very  convincing  argument 
by  Paley,  in  his  Horse  Paulinas.  The  authorship  of  the 
Epistle  has  never  been  seriously  questioned. 

It  is  difficult  now  to  reenter  into  that  world  of  physical, 
intellectual,  social,  political,  and  religious  relations  in  which 
Paul  was  living,  and  from  which  he  wrote  this  Epistle. 
But  warm-hearted  as  he  was,  he  naturally  contracted,  cha- 
meleon-like, the  color  of  the  circumstances  around  him,  and 
while  he  was  faithful  to  the  lofty  landmarks  of  Christianity, 
he  taught  the  new  religion  with  adaptation  to  the  men  of 
that  period^  He  doubtless  learned  from  Priscilla  and  Aquila 
(Romans  xvi.  3)  the  state  of  things  in  the  imperial  city,  and 
having  an  opportunity,  in  an  age  when  there  were  no  mails 
or  telegraphs,  to  send  a  letter  to  Rome  by  Phebe,  he  writes 
the  following  Epistle.  As  he  was  soon  to  take  another 
journey  to  Jerusalem,  to  carry  the  contributions  of  the 
churches  to  relieve  the  poor  disciples  there,  and  expose  him- 
self to  great  danger,  he  may  be  supposed  to  write  under  a 
quickened  sense  of  responsibility,  and  with  the  utmost 
anxiety  to  guard  the  Roman  church  from  the  heresies  which 
were  creeping  in. 

If  we  divide  the  Epistles  into  three  classes,  the  Doctrinal, 
the  Ecclesiastical,  and  the  Pastoral,  we  shall  place  the  Epis- 
tle to  the  Romans  in  the  first  division. 

We  find  in  it,  indeed,  no  new  doctrines,  no  positive  addi- 
tions to  the  Gospels,  except  in  the  way  of  argument,  illus- 
tration, and  application.  But  Paul  had  a  twofold  problem, 
requiring  great  delicacy,  address,  pith,  and  eloquence  to 
solve ;  namely,  to  wean  the  Gentile  part  of  the  Church  from 
their  fondness  for  the  Grecian  philosophy,  and  to  withdraw 
them  from  their  Pagan  practices  ;  and  also  to  lead  the  Jew- 
7 


74  THE    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    TO    THE    ROMANS. 

ish  converts  to  conform  to  the  faith  and  obedience  of  the 
Gospel,  instead  of  the  laws  of  Moses.  We  are  prone  to 
forget  in  what  a  crude  and  formative  state  were  these  early 
chm'ches,  how  lately  they  had  been  converted  from  old 
creeds  and  customs,  how  truly  they  were  babes  in  Christ, 
and  needed  the  sincere,  pure  milk  of  the  Word.  We  are, 
therefore,  under  an  illusion  when  we  look  back  to  the  prim- 
itive Church  as  the  golden  age  of  Christianity.  We  learn 
enough  from  the  New  Testament,  and  still  more  from  the 
early  church  histories,  to  convince  us  that  abominable  cus- 
toms and  monstrous  heresies  were  found  at  an  early  day  in 
the  churches  founded  by  the  Apostles  themselves.  (1  Corin- 
thians V.  1 ;  vi.  5,  6,  18  ;  xi.  21 ;  xv.  12 ;  Ephesians  v.  18  ; 
1  John  iv.  2-4;  Revelation  ii.  6,  15.)  The  real  golden 
age  of  Christianity  is  buried  in  a  remote  future,  not  in  a 
traditional  past. 

It  has  sometimes  been  asserted  that  Paul  raised  as  many 
questions  as  he  laid,  that  his  writings  are  the  debatable 
land  of  theology,  and  the  grand  armory  of  the  theological 
warfare,  from  which  every  combatant  may  pick  out  the 
weapon  that  pleases  him  best.  But  it  is  plain  that  Chris- 
tianity came  to  arouse  dormant  human  nature,  and  it  is  but 
natural  that  the  first  exhibitions  of  its  activity  should  be 
somewhat  irregular.  Jesus  said,  he  came  to  bring,  not 
peace,  but  a  sword.  Discussion,  argument,  controversy,  are 
inseparable  concomitants  to  the  progress  of  truth.  We  may 
deprecate  justly  the  angry  jars  of  the  conflict,  but  we  cannot 
help  being  gratified  with  the  victories  of  truth,  and  hailing 
its  champions  as  among  the  most  illustrious  benefactors  of 
mankind.  Paul  has  indeed  awakened  much  controversy, 
but  it  has  resulted  from  misinterpretation  of  his  writings, 
from  preconceived  theories,  and  stubborn  prejudices,  and 
philosophy,  falsely  so  called,  and  we  cannot  but  rejoice  to 
see  these  slowly  yielding  the  field  to  the  mighty  prevalence 


THE    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    TO    THE    ROMANS.  75 

of  truth.  "The  Conflict  of  Ages"  has  not  been  in  vain, 
and  the  Apostle,  though  quoted  too  long  on  the  wrong  side 
of  the  question,  is  truly  the  Achilles  of  the  host.  He  was 
the  sublime  vindicator  of  spmtual  freedom  in  his  day,  and  he 
is  the  legitimate  father  and  forerunner  of  Luther,  who  has 
led  the  way  to  civil  and  religious  independence  in  our  age. 
Paul  and  Luther  have  many  spiritual  features  alike,  but 
not  less  did  the  mission  they  came  to  perform  in  ages  wide 
apart  bear  a  kindred  resemblance. 

The  single  key,  in  few  words,  we  conceive,  which  will 
unlock  the  Epistles  of  Paul  to  the  Romans  and  the  Gala- 
tians,  is  not,  as  has  been  stated,  "justification  by  faith,"  as 
if  the  great  question  were,  how  a  man  is  judged  or  estimated 
on  the  side  of  God,  but  "righteousness  by  faith,"  faith- 
righteousness,  or  how  a  man  really  is  in  his  own  character, 
on  the  side  of  himself.  The  Apostle  shows  conclusively, 
that  neither  Grecian  wisdom  nor  Hebrew  law  could  be 
trusted  as  adequate  to  produce  this  superior,  spiritual  faith- 
righteousness  ;  that,  in  fact,  they  had  both  been  tried,  and 
found  wanting,  but  that  religion  of  Jesus  was  chartered, 
treasured,  and  energized  with  powers  adequate  to  achieve 
the  gi-and  result.  It  was  the  wisdom  of  God,  and  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation. 

To  meet  the  successive  points  of  this  high  argument,  and 
vindicate  for  so  lowly  an  instrument  as  the  Gospel  of  the 
Crucified  One  an  entire  right  to  lead  the  most  civilized  na- 
tions, to  command  Greece,  Rome,  or  whatever  else  was 
most  refined  or  powerful  in  the  ancient  world,  nay,  to  take 
the  children  of  Revelation  themselves  under  its  tutelage,  and 
to  fulfil  the  faith  of  Abraham,  the  Law  of  Moses,  the  hope 
of  David  and  Isaiah,  was  the  programme  of  these  Epistles. 
For  we  can  understand  that  the  righteousness,  which  was 
based  upon  knowledge,  philosophy,  wisdom,  and  thus  con- 
nected only  with  things  seen  and  temporal,  the  Grecian 


76  THE    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    TO    THE    ROMANS. 

type  of  character,  must  be  far  inferior  to  the  righteousness 
founded  on  the  principle  of  faith,  and  thus  connected  with 
things  unseen  and  eternal ;  and,  again,  that  the  law-right- 
eousness of  the  Hebrews,  like  the  wisdom-righteousness  of 
the  Greeks,  must  be  hard,  technical,  definite,  and  limited, 
and  that  it  could  never  rise  to  the  height  and  beauty  of  a 
spiritual  character,  formed  on  the  ideal  of  a  Heavenly  Sav- 
iour and  Father,  and  energized  by  the  hopes  and  promises 
of  eternal  life.  In  the  fulness  of  time,  when  other  experi- 
ments had  failed,  the  well-beloved  Son  came,  that  he  might 
establish  the  righteousness  which  is  by  faith,  and  which 
would  thus  have  in  itself  a  perpetual  spring  of  growth,  puri- 
fication, and  power.  The  word  justification  occurs  but 
three  times  in  the  New  Testament  (Romans  iv.  25,  v.  16, 
18),  and  in  those  instances  the  idea  would  be  truly  given  by 
the  term  righteousness ^  understood  in  the  active  sense,  or 
the  process  of  making  righteous  or  just.  Romans  iv.  25  : 
"  Who  was  delivered  for  our  ofTences,  and  was  raised  again 
for  the  making  of  us  righteous.''^  Even  in  the  Calvinistic 
translation  of  King  James  the  true  idea  occasionally  breaks 
out,  as  in  Romans  v.  19  :  "  By  the  obedience  of  one  shall 
many  be  made  righteous." 

The  vice  of  the  common  theory  of  Pauline  interpretation 
is,  that  it  makes  the  Apostle,  who  w^as  an  enemy  to  all 
shams  and  an  advocate  of  the  most  earnest  realities,  con- 
cerned chiefly  on  the  questions,  how  man  can  escape,  not 
sin,  but  condemnation  ;  and  how  he  can  gain,  not  righteous- 
ness and  sanctification,  but  acceptance.  This  is  putting 
the  emphasis  altogether  in  the  wrong  place.  Faith-right- 
eousness, not  faith-justification,  was  the  bent  and  aim  of  the 
Apostle's  discourse,  and  faith-justification  was  to  be  the 
consequent,  not  the  antecedent,  to  faith-righteousness.  By 
substituting  Christian  faith  instead  of  Grecian  wisdom,  or 
Hebrew  law  for  the  mainspring  and  motive-power  of  life 


THE    EPI8TLE    OF    PAUL    TO    THE    ROMANS.  77 

and  character,  Paul  had  taken  hold  of  the  most  effective 
and  well-adapted  instrument  in  the  universe  for  the  achieve- 
ment of  the  great  end  of  human  existence.  He  was  prima- 
rily devoted  to  the  discussion  of  the  need,  value,  fitness, 
beauty,  and  divine  intention  of  this  instrument,  but  that  he 
either  neglected  or  forgot  the  natural  and  necessary  works 
of  obedience,  benevolence,  and  improvement,  which  would 
flow  as  surely  as  streams  from  the  parent  fountain,  is  dis- 
proved by  the  long  and  animating  exhortations  with  which 
he  filled  the  concluding  portions  of  every  epistle,  calling 
trumpet-tongued  upon  his  converts  to  show  the  purity  and 
strength  of  their  faith  by  the  consistency  of  their  lives  and 
the  devotion  and  benevolence  of  their  characters. 

The  difficulty  of  understanding  the  Apostle's  writings 
arises  not  from  the  matter  so  much  as  the  form  of  his  com- 
position. He  was  an  artisan,  but  not  an  artist.  His  ma- 
terials were  abundant,  his  arguments  weighty,  his  figures  of 
speech  brilliant,  his  stream  of  thought  and  feeling  deep  and 
impetuous  ;  but  not  adhering  to  the  rules  of  rhetoric  and  logic, 
it  is  sometimes  impossible,  and  not  unfrequently  hard,  to 
grasp  his  meaning.  His  obscurity  is  not  attributable  to  im- 
perfect conception  or  feeble  statement  of  his  ideas,  but  to 
the  number,  the  rapidity  and  sweep,  of  his  thoughts  and 
emotions ;  not  to  negative  blank  darkness,  but  to  blinding, 
dazzling  light.  We  are  distracted  by  the  affluence  and 
splendor  and  intricate  confusion  of  the  intellectual  treasures 
which  he  pours  out  before  us.  We  feel  that  here  are  gifts 
of  mind  and  heart,  appeals  of  eloquence,  and  gems  of  imagi- 
nation, sufficient  to  set  up  and  endow  half  a  dozen  orators 
and  poets,  while  the  Apostle  himself,  owing  to  his  lack  of 
artistic  order  and  clear  logical  sequence,  comes  short,  in  the 
appreciation  of  the  world  at  large,  of  being  either  a  first- 
class  reasoner  or  illustrator  of  truth.  But  to  the  few,  who 
penetrate  his   unpromising  exterior,  and   enter  the   secret 

7" 


78  -      THE    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    TO    THE    ROMANS. 

places  of  his  power  and  his  glory,  the  image  of  the  Apostle 
Paul  rises  upon  the  view  as  one  of  the  greatest  writers  the 
world  has  ever  seen,  independently  of  his  title  to  inspiration. 
His  style  has  been  called  by  a  German  critic  a  battle;  I 
would  rather  say  it  was  a  thunder-storm,  —  the  torrents  of 
rain  pouring  down  from  the  sky,  the  vivid  gleams  of  light- 
ning darting  among  the  clouds,  and  the  deep-toned  thunder 
rolling  in  the  distance,  —  a  certain  indistinctness  over  the 
whole,  and  a  commingling  of  elements,  but  everywhere 
glory,  majesty,  terror,  richness,  and  beauty ;  and  after  his 
darkest  passages  the  rainbow  of  the  Divine  love  arches  over 
the  heavens,  and  tinges  with  its  lovely  colors  the  black  and 
drenched  earth. 


THE 


EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  TO  THE  ROMANS. 


REFERENCES. 


The  following  editors,  autliors,  and  commentators  have  been  consulted  in 
tlie  preparation  of  the  comments  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans :  —  Gries- 
bach,  Tischendorf,  Luther,  Beza,  Tyndale,  Sacy,  McKnight,  Comprehen- 
Five  Commentary,  Doddridge,  Trollope,  Adam  Clarke,  Bloomfield,  Barnes, 
Stuart,  Dabney,  Hammond,  Le  Clerc,  Hemy,  Chalmers,  Burder,  Burkitt, 
Lardner,  Lightfoot,  Cellerier,  Lord  Lyttelton,  Paley,  Haynes,  Winer,  De 
Wette,  Hug,  Olshausen,  Neander,  Tholuck,  Norton,  "Whitwell,  Robinson, 
Belsham,  Home,  Abbot,  Farmer,  Wilson,  ISIilman,  Taylor,  More,  Hodge, 
Goadby,  Lnproved  Version,  Gerard,  Whately,  Fratres  Poloni,  Poole,  Chris- 
tian Examiner,  and  Christian  Register. 


THE 


EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  TO  THE  ROMANS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  Salutation,  Introduction^  and  a  Descrijjtioji  of  the  Wichedness  of  the  Gentiles. 
Paul,  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  called  to  he  an  apostle,  separated 


1.  Paul.  It  was  the  custom  an- 
ciently to  place  the  name  of  the 
writer  at  the  beginning  of  an  epistle, 
instead  of  at  the  close,  as  is  done 
noAV.  Acts  xxiii.  26.  The  letters 
missive  of  churches  now  retain  the 
old  method.  The  change  of  the 
Apostle's  name  from  Saul  to  Paul  has 
been  variously  accounted  for ;  either 
as  a  compliment  to  Sergius  Paul  us, 
Acts  xiii.  7,  9,  13,  or  as  a  prefer- 
ence of  a  Gentile  to  a  Hebrew  name, 
which  is  a  more  probable  supposition. 
Paul  was  an  apostle  to  the  heathen 
world,  and  he  was  willing  to  conform 
to  their  taste  in  matters  of  indiffer- 
ence. 1  Cor.  ix.  21,  22.  The  critics 
cite  many  cases  of  a  similar  trans- 
formation;  as  o?  Tarplion  into  Try- 
■plio,  JoiaJcim  into  Alkimos.  —  A  ser- 
vant of  Jesus  Christ.  Tischendorf 
edits,  Christ  Jesus.  The  original  is 
slave;  that  being  the  condition  of 
most  servants  in  the  East.  It  was  a 
term  of  honor  rather  than  shame, 
when  connected  with  a  master  of 
great  dignity.  The  slaves  of  kings 
were  often  their  chief  officers,  and 
sometimes  prime  ministers.  The  ob- 
vious sense  is,  that  Paul  was  wholly 
devoted  for  hfe,  body  and  soul,  to 
Jesus  Christ,  as  his  master ;  who  had 
subdued  and  converted  him  by  his 
power ;   a  service  not  of  bondage, 


but  of  perfect  liberty.*  —  Called  to 
he  an  apostle.  Chosen  an  apostle. 
The  italics  of  the  translators  are 
needless  here,  as  in  many  other  in- 
stances. The  Apostle,  with  a  becom- 
ing dignity,  advances  at  the  outset 
his  credentials  and  claims  to  be 
heard,  as  an  authorized  messenger 
of  God.  Some  have  conjectured  that 
Paul  was  the  true  substitute  for  Ju- 
das Iscariot,  and  that  the  choice  of 
Matthias,  Acts  i.  26,  v/as  not  made 
with  the  Divine  sanction.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  the  appointment  of  Paul  to 
the  sacred  office  was  an  undoubted 
interposition  of  God,  bearing  in  every 
particular  the  most  unquestionable 
marks  of  miraculous  agency.  Acts 
ix.  He  was  equal  in  office  to  Peter 
and  the  other  Apostles.  It  was  not  a 
service  he  had  voluntarily  assumed, 
or  in  which  he  stood  on  his  own 
word  or  authority ;  he  bore  the  com- 
mission of  Heaven,  and  none  might 
innocently  gainsay  his  message.  It 
was  not  he,  it  was  God,  it  was  Christ, 
empowering  him,  as  a  chosen  vessel, 


*  When  writers  call  the  Apostle  boastful, 
they  forget  that  he  couples  with  his  own  name 
servant,  and  that  his  boasting  was  not  that  of 
self-esteem,  but  of  exultant  gratitude,  and  con- 
scious authority  and  power,  for  which  he  was 
accountable,  and  which  men  were  to  respect, 
not  for  his  sake,  but  for  God's  sake  and  their 
own  weal. 


82 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


untp  the  Gospel  of   God,  Avhicli  lie  had  promised  afore  by  his    2 
prophets  m  the  holy  Scriptures,  concerning  his  Son  Jesus  Clirist   3 


to  bear  the  Gospel  to  the  Gentile 
world.  Jesus  and  the  Twelve  ut- 
tered their  message  primarily  "to 
the  lost  sheejD  of  the  house  of  Israel." 
The  sj)ecial  designation  of  Paul  was 
to  preach  the  Gospel  to  all  nations.  — 
Separated  unto,  i.  e.  set  apart,  or  con- 
secrated, to  the  office  of  proclaiming 
the  good  news  from  heaven.  Jer. 
i.  5;  Acts  xiil.  2;  Gal.  i.  15.  The 
whole  stress  of  the  verse  is,  at  once 
to  establish  his  claims  as  an  apostle, 
and  also,  as  Theophylact  said,  "to 
express  his  humble-mindedness,  and 
to  intimate  that  he  had  not  found 
because  he  had  sought,  but  that  he 
had  come  because  he  was  called." 
John  XV.  16,  19.  Negatively,  in  Gal. 
i.  1,  and  positively,  in  1  Cor.  i.  1, 
2  Cor.  i.  1,  Eph.  i.  1,  Col.  i.  1,  1  Tim. 
i.  1,  2  Tim.  i.  1,  he  reiterated  his 
apostolic  authority,  as  coming,  "  not 
of  men,  neither  by  man,"  but  "  by 
the  will  of  God,"  "  by  the  command- 
ment of  God  our  Saviour,  and  Lord 
Jesus  Christ." 

2.  Which  clearly  refers  to  Gos- 
pel.—  Promised  afore.  This  phrase 
will  be  better  understood  after  it  is 
known  that  it  is  all  comprised  in  one 
verb  in  the  original  Greek.  The 
simple  word  means  to  bring  a  mes- 
sage, or  news,  tidings;  compounded 
with  a  particle,  meaning  icell  or  good, 
it  signifies  to  bring  good  news;  and 
hence  comes  its  secondary  meaning, 
to  announce  the  Gospel,  to  preach 
Christianity,  which  is  preeminently 
glad  tidings,  to  mankind  ;  and  com- 
poimded  with  two  other  Greek  par- 
ticles, meaning  hefore,  and  upon  or 
to,  it  occurs  in  the  text,  and  should 
be  rendered  2'>rocJaimed  or  announced 
hefore.  Thus  Stuart,  "  tohich  he 
formerly,  or  in  former  times,  de- 
clared or  published."  The  word 
afore  in  English  has  either  become 
obsolete,  or  fallen   into  vulgar  use, 


and  before,  in  all  correct  speech  and 
writing,  has  taken  its  place.  —  By 
his  p)rophets  in  the  holy  Scriptures. 
The  term  jyrophets  here  includes  all 
the  Avriters  of  the  Old  Testament, 
whether  lawgivers,  like  Moses,  psalm- 
ists, like  David,  or  professed  predic- 
tors of  future  events,  like  Isaiah ;  and 
the  holy  Scri^ytures  mean  all  their  writ- 
ings. Tliis  was  a  sentence  of  con- 
ciliation for  the  Jewish  Christians,  to 
soothe  their  easily  alarmed  prejudices 
at  the  admission  of  Gentiles  into  the 
Church,  by  proclaiming  the  antiquity 
and  Hebrew  sanction  of  the  Gospel 
promises.  Every  j^art  of  the  declara- 
tion is  guarded  and  weighty.  As 
Erasmus  observes,  "  the  promise  is 
not  made  by  any  body  whatever, 
but  by  God  himself;  nor  through 
any  persons  whatever  v/ithout  distinc- 
tion, but  through  his  true  and  divine 
prophets ;  nor  in  any  ordinary  way, 
but  in  the  sacred  Scriptures."  Gen. 
xii.  3  ;  xxii.  18  ;  Isa.  xi.,  liii.,  Iv.,  Ixi. ; 
Jer.  xxxi.  31-34;  Dan.  vii.  13,  14; 
ix.  24  -  27  ;  Joel  ii.  28  -  32  ;  Mcah 
V.  2;  Hag.  ii.  6-9;  Zech.  ix.  9; 
Mai.  iii.  1 ;  iv.  5,  6.  These  refer- 
ences are  but  specimens  of  a  general 
character  of  prediction,  anticipation, 
hope  of  the  Messiah,  which  runs 
quite  through  the  Hebrew  Scrip- 
tures, from  the  first  book  to  the  last. 
This  ruling  idea  constitutes  a  part  of 
the  very  substratvmi  of  the  elder  dis- 
jDensation.  The  testimony  of  the 
prophets  is  often  appealed  to  by  our 
Lord  and  his  disciples.  Luke  xxiv. 
25-27,44-46;  Acts  x.  43;  xviii.  28; 
xxvi.  22,  23;  Tit.  i.  2 ;  1  Pet.  i.  10; 
2  Pet.  i.  19-21.  For  the  general 
expectation,  not  only  among  the 
Jews,  but  in  all  nations,  of  the  com- 
ing of  a  great  deliverer  about  the 
time  of  the  advent  of  Jesus  Christ, 
see  the  comments  on  Matt.  ii.  2. 
3.   Concerning  his  Son  Jesus  Christ. 


I-] 


TO  THE  ROMANS. 


83 


our  Lord,  which  was  made  of  the  seed  of  David  according  to  the 
4  flesh ;  and  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power,  according  to 


This  connects  with  verse  1 ,  the  inter- 
mecUate  clause  being  parenthetical, 
or  at  least  explanatory,  and  the  whole 
reads,  separated  unto  the  Gospel  of 
God  concerning  Ids  Son  Jesus  Christ. 
Tliohick  observes,  "  We  find  here, 
what  often  occurs  in  the  writings  of 
this  author,  a  large  group  of  coordi- 
nate clauses.  AVitli  reference  to 
these,  we  remark,  that  Paul's  pecu- 
liar mode  of  thinking,  and  conse- 
quently also  of  expression,  is  most 
aptly  compared  to  a  throng  of  waves, 
where,  in  ever  loftier  swell,  one  bil- 
low presses  close  upon  the  other. 
Like  all  men  of  lively  temperament, 
he  ever  seeks  to  heighten  the  im- 
pressions of  liis  words,  by  appending 
new  explanations  or  definitions."  — 
Which  ivas  made  of  the  seed  of  David 
according  to  the  fleshy  or  loho  luas 
horn  of  the  seed  of  David  as  to  his 
natural  descent.  All  the  ingenious 
commenting  of  Olshausen  and  others 
upon  these  words,  to  extort  the  idea 
that  the  whole  human  nature  of 
Jesus  is  here  meant,  mind  as  well  as 
body,  in  contrast  with  his  divine 
nature,  as  expressed  in  the  next 
verse,  is  purely  groundless  and  gra- 
tuitous. It  is  an  ex  post  facto,  or 
subsequent  notion,  inferred  from  one 
of  the  greatest  corruptions  of  the 
Christian  doctrine,  and  having  no 
basis  in  the  living  text  of  God's  Avord. 
The  simple  statement  is,  that  Jesus 
was,  so  far  as  his  early  parentage  was 
concerned,  born  of  Mary,  the  de- 
scendant of  David,  and  it  is  a  work 
of  supererogation  to  go  behind  that 
statement.  The  Apostle  might  have 
a  twofold  purpose  ;  first,  to  negative 
that  early  heresy  that  the  INIessiah 
did  not  come  in  actual  flesh  and 
blood;  1  John  iv.  2,  3 ;  2  John  7; 
and  secondly,  to  dignify  Christ  in 
the  eyes  of  the  Jews,  and  to  show  the 
fulfilment  of  ancient  prophecy   by 


the  fact  of  his  sonship  to  Iving  David. 
See  Matt.  i.  1  ;  ix.  27;  xii.  23;  xv. 
22;  xxii.  45;  Luke  xviii.  39;  John 
vii.  42  ;  and  many  other  texts,  which 
prove  that  by  the  Son  of  David  was 
understood  the  long-desired  Son  of 
David,  or  the  Messiah.  The  asser- 
tion of  Barnes,  that  "  the  expression 
'  according  to  the  flesh '  is  apjilied  to 
no  other  one  in  the  New  Testament 
but  to  Jesus  Christ,"  and  the  deduc- 
tion from  that,  that  the  phrase  has 
some  very  deep  and  sphinx-like  idea 
in  it,  is  all  confuted  by  Rom.  ix.  3, 
where  the  same  words  are  emploj'ed 
relating  to  the  Jews. 

4.  Declared.  Margin  reads  deter- 
mined. The  word  in  Greek  means 
to  define,  limit,  determine,  decree. 
Horizon  in  Enghsh  is  one  of  its  de- 
rivatives. It  occurs  only  eight  times 
in  the  Christian  Scriptures,  either  as 
a  verb  or  participle,  and  six  of  the 
eight  are  in  one  writer,  Luke.  In 
Luke  xxii.  22,  Acts  xi.  29  and  xvii. 
26,  it  is  rendered  in  the  Common 
Version,  determined;  in  Acts  ii.  23, 
determinate ;  Acts  x.  42  and  xvii.  31, 
ordained ;  Heb.  iv.  7,  limited;  and  in 
the  present  instance,  declared.  The 
meaning  seems  to  refer  to  his  being 
proved  or  clearly  shown  to  be  the 
Son  of  God,  not  as  it  respects  the 
original  decree  or  ordination  of  God, 
but  in  the  sight  and  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  mankind.  The  mode  in 
which  this  was  done  is  stated  in  the 
next  clause  of  the  verse,  viz.  loilh 
j)0wer ;  powerfully  declared  to  be 
the  Son  of  God.  Col.  i.  29.  So  Lu- 
ther and  many  others  make  the 
phrase  adverbial.  The  point  in 
which  he  was  thus  declared  is  then 
stated,  to  wit,  according  to  the  spirit 
of  holiness,  or,  as  to  his,  Christ's,  holy 
spirit ;  it  was  there  the  stress  of  the 
proof  fell.  And  then  the  means  by 
which  the  declaration  and  proof  wore 


84 


THE.  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


the  spirit  of  holiness,  by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead :  by  whom    5 
we  have  received  grace  and  apostleship,  for  obedience  to  the  faith 
among  all  nations,  for  his  name :  among  whom  are  ye  also  the    6 


given  follows,  i.  e.  hy  the  resurrec- 
tion from  the  dead.  By  printing  the 
word  Spirit  Avith  a  capital,  it  is  inti- 
mated that  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  is 
signified,  whereas  the  Avords,  accord- 
ing to  the  sjurit  of  holiness,  are  con- 
trasted Avith  those  in  the  foregoing 
verse,  according  to  the  flesh,  and  sim- 
ply mean  the  holy  spirit  of  our  Lord, 
as  the  sanctified  and  sent  of  the 
Father.  The  resurrection  is  ap- 
pealed to,  in  numberless  places,  as 
the  "  confirmation  strong  "  of  his  be-  • 
ing  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God. 
There  Avere  many  other  proofs,  but 
this  one  took  the  lead,  and  more 
poioerfully  demonstrated  liis  claims  as 
a  divine  teacher.  Matt.  xii.  38  -  40  ; 
xxviii.lS;  Acts  ii.  22-36  ;  x.  39-42; 
xiii.  30  -  37  ;  1  Cor.  xv.  14  - 17  ;  2  Cor. 
xiii.  4;  1  Pet.  iii.  18.  It  is  perhaj)s 
needless  to  add,  but  for  the  cavil 
made,  that  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
to  life  and  immortality  proves  far 
more  than  the  restoration  to  life  of 
Lazarus,  or  any  one  else,  because  it 
occurred  under  Avidely  different  cir- 
cumstances, and  was  folloAved  by  con- 
sequences altogether  peculiar.  The 
miracles  of  Christ  Avere  all  shining 
proofs  of  his  divine  mission,  so  de- 
clared by  him,  so  recei\'ed  by  the 
people,  so  preached  by  his  Apostles, 
so  believed  in  the  Church  Universal ; 
but  the  miracle  of  the  resurrection 
Avas  the  superlative  and  crowning 
Avitness  that  he  Avas  the  Son  of  God. 

5.  By  lohom,  i.  e.  by  or  throuoh 
Jesus  Christ.  He  was  the  media- 
torial, not  original  cause.  The  spirit- 
ual gifts  came  from  God  through  his 
medium.  —  We.  I,  Paul.  —  Grace 
and  apostleship.  Hendiadys,  or  a  He- 
brew rhetorical  figure  for  grace  of 
apostleship.  So  "life  and  immor- 
tahty  "  means  "  immortal  life."  Paul 
would  represent  himself  as  "  not  a 


whit  behind  the  very  chiefest  Apos- 
tles "  of  the  original  band ;  for  if 
they  did  not  assume  their  apostle- 
ship of  themselves,  but  received  it 
from  the  Master,  so  did  he,  under  even 
more  solemn  circumstances.  Acts  ix. 
One  of  the  most  burning  convictions 
of  his  mind  Avas  the  inconceivable 
grace  Avhich  had  converted  him  from 
a  blasphemer  and  persecutor  to  an 
Apostle.  1  Tim.  i.  13  - 15.  The  Avord 
grace  is  elsewhere  translated,  in  some 
cases, ^afor.  See  Luke  i.  30;  ii.  52; 
Acts  ii.  47;  vii.  10;  xxv.  3.  Uni- 
formity of  rendering  is  important  to 
a  good  translation,  wherever  the 
original  Avords  signify  the  same  thing. 
—  For  obedience  to  the  faith.  The 
marginal  reading  is,  to  the  obedietice 
of  faith.  Our  author  here  touches  for 
the  first  time  Avith  a  gentle  hand  upon 
the  grand  theme  of  his  letter,  "  tJie 
obedience  of  faith,  as  contradistin- 
guished from  legal  obedience."  It  was 
Iiis  ofiice  emphatically,  as  an  Apostle 
"  among  all  nations,"  or  to  the  Gen- 
tiles as  Avell  as  the  Jews,  to  proclaun 
the  obedience  of  faith,  to  convince 
men  to  obey  the  Gospel,  not  as  a  form 
or  ritual,  but  as  a  faith,  as  a  great  in- 
ternal and  spiritual  principle  of  life, 
peace,  and  progress.  He  afterwards 
brings  out  this  idea  into  mountain- 
like prominence,  and  accumulates 
upon  it  the  mighty  poAvers  of  his 
genius  and  inspiration.  —  For  his 
name,  i.  e.  for  his  sake ;  for  his 
glory.  "  In  order  that,  by  means  of 
the  propagation  of  the  faith  among 
all  nations,  Christ  may  be  glorified." 

G.  The  called  of  Jesus  Christ,  i.  e. 
Christians.  The  mischievous  after- 
thought of  the  commentators,  and 
their  prying  curiosity,  Avhether  it 
means  Christians  by  profession,  or 
Christians  in  reality,  disciples  exter- 
nally called   and  enjoying  the  out-* 


I] 


TO  THE  KOMANS. 


S5 


7  called  of  Jesus  Christ :    to  all  that  be  in  Rome,  beloved  of  God, 
called  to  he  saints :  Grace  to  you,  and  peace,  from  God  our  Father 


ward  means  and  privileges  of  Chris- 
tianity or  disciples  ejfectualhj  called 
and  inwardly  sanctified  and  sealed 
unto  the  day  of  redemption,  may  aU 
be  spared.  It  is  a  substantive  term 
meaning  Christians ;  and  when  we 
can  decide  what  we  mean  at  the 
present  day  by  that  term,  we  can 
ascertain  beyond  doubt  what  Paul 
intended  when  he  said,  "  the  called 
of  Jesus  Christ."  It  was  not  for  the 
Apostle,  it  is  not  for  any  mortal 
this  side  of  the  revelations  of  eternity, 
to  pronounce  who  is,  and  who  is  not, 
called  effectually  by  God  in  his  provi- 
dence, and  by  Christ  in  his  Gospel. 
We  look  upon  certain  companies  of 
believers,  and  we  call  them  Chris- 
tians, suljstantively,  bodily.  They 
may  be  in  errors  of  doctrine,  as  were 
the  disciples  at  Rome,  or  in  errors  of 
conduct,  as  were  the  disciples  at 
Corinth;  but  neither  the  errors  of 
doctrine  in  the  one,  nor  the  vices  of 
the  other,  prevented  the  inspired 
preacher  of  Christianity  from  calling 
them  disciples.  Christians,  "  beloved 
of  God  called  to  be  saints."  There  is  a 
lancet  criticism  which  cuts  up  every- 
thing by  the  roots,  and  suffers  noth- 
ing to  wear  its  natural  grace  and 
simplicity  in  the  held  where  it  enters. 
The  writers  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
used  free  popular  language,  bold  fig- 
ures of  rhetoric,  (Quotations,  allusions, 
as  authors  have  done  in  every  age ; 
and  unless  we  interpret  their  words 
accordingly,  if  Ave  wring  every  phrase 
to  see  how  much  meaning  we  can 
extort  from  it,  if  we  cut  —  to  use  the 
commonplace  of  critics  —  their  lan- 
guage to  the  quick,  we  turn  the  reve- 
lation into  a  mystery  and  the  Bible 
into  a  lildden  book.  The  methods 
of  Biblical  (criticism  are  often  spoken 
of  slightingly,  but  they  are  as  essen- 
tial in  their  place  as  the  arts  of  com- 
puting numbers,  for  we   never  can 


force  the  rhetorical,  any  more  than 
the  numerical  figures,  to  yield  the 
right  result  mthout  the  right  rules. 

7.  To  all  that  he  in  Rome,  lie  does 
not  say  Romans,  but  all,  foreigners 
and  natives,  Jews  as  well  as  Gentiles. 
That  searching  critic  upon  the  Com- 
mon Version,  Spuonds,  would  prop- 
erly substitute  are  for  the  obsolete  ni- 
dicative  he.  —  Beloved  of  God,  called 
to  he  saints.  See  the  remarks  on  the 
preceding  verse.  Terms  similar  to 
these  were  applied  to  the  relation  be- 
tween God  and  the  Israelites.  See  Ex. 
xix.  6;  Dent,  xxxii.  19;  xxxiil.  3; 
where  they  are  called  "  a  kingdom  of 
priests,"  "  a  holy  nation,"  "  his  sons 
and  daughters,"  "  his  saints,"  and 
"  the  people  "  whom  he  "  loved."  The 
Epistles  abound  with  such  phrases 
relative  to  the  Christian  Church. 
Rom.  viii.  33  ;  Eph.  i.  4  ;  Phil.  ii.  15  ; 
Col.  ili.  12;  2  Thess.  ii.  13;  2  Tim. 
ii.  10  ;  Tit.  i.  1 ;  1  Pet.  ii.  9  ;  1  John 
ill.  1,  2.  As  to  the  term  saints,  Arch- 
bishop NeAvcome  says,  "  All  Chris- 
tians were  thus  called,  because  they' 
were  dedicated  to  God,  1  Cor.  vii.  14, 
and  because  they  professed  a  religion 
which  tended  to  make  them  holy." 
1  Cor.  vl.  11.  See  also  Acts  xxvi. 
10;  Rom.  xii.  13  ;  1  Cor.  vi.  1 ;  Eph. 
ill.  8.  But,  he  adds,  "  those  who  were 
thus  denominated  might  fall  from 
personal  holiness."  While,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  very  benediction  of 
the  Apostle  is  a  wish  that  they  might 
have  more  and  more  sanctity  and 
spirituality,  thus  precluding  the  no- 
tion that  they  had  "  already  attained, 
or  Avere  already  perfect,"  or  even  out 
of  all  manner  of  spiritual  danger.  — 
Grace  to  )/ou,  and  peace.  A  wish  that 
all  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel,  its 
happiest  influences,  might  be  shed 
over  their  hearts  and  lives.  The  apos- 
tolic benediction  has  various  forms, 
as  it  occurs  in  different  Epistles,  but 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     First,  I  thank  my  God  through  Jesus  8 
Christ  for  you  all,  that  your  faith  is  spoken  of  throughout  the  whole 


its  general  import  is  the  same,  and 
cannot  be  mistaken.  Well  -would  it 
be  if  the  ministry  of  modern  days 
adhered  more  closely  to  these  forms, 
instead  of  habitually  introducing, 
as  many  do,  doctrinal  phraseology, 
which  has  no  guaranty  in  the  word 
of  God,  and  which  often  jars  on  the 
ear  of  their  dissenting  brethren. — 
From  God  our  Father^  and  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  i.  e.  according  to  Dr. 
Wells,  Salmeron,  Pyle,  Dr.  A.  Clarke, 
and  others,  whose  authority  is  ad- 
duced by  Wilson  in  his  "  Conces- 
sions of  Trinitarians,"  "  AU  blessings 
spiritual  and  temporal  be  unto  you, 
from  God  our  Father,  as  the  Foun- 
tain of  them,  and  from  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  as  the  channel  through 
which  they  are  conveyed  to  us." 
Coleridge,  also  a  Trinitarian,  repudi- 
ates in  strong  terms  the  idea  of  any 
invocation.  "Invoked!  Surely  a 
pious  wish  is  not  an  invocation. 
'  May  good  angels  attend  you ! '  is  no 
invocation  or  worship  of  angels." 
But  if  it  were  otherwise,  and  there 
were  something  of  the  nature  of  a 
prayer,  the  conjunction  of  the  name 
of  Christ  with  that  of  God  no  more 
proves  his  deity,  than  the  language 
of  Paul  in  Acts  xx.  32  is  to  be  taken 
as  predicating  divine  attributes  of 
"  the  word  of  his  grace,"  because  he 
connects  it  with  "  God  "  in  the  same 
clause.  See  also  Eph.  vi.  10,  and 
the  comments  on  Matt,  xxviii.  19. 
Some  have  proposed  to  read,  "  God, 
the  Father  of  us  and  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ";  but  it  is  a  violence 
which  the  usages  of  the  language  will 
not  bear.  No  real  difficulty  arises 
from  the  ordinary  formula. 

We  have  now  closed  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  Epistle.  In  violation  of 
the  rule  of  the  rhetoricians,  to  make 
the  first  sentence  short,  the  Apostle 
opens  wide  his  subject  with  words  of 


power  and  number.  "  No  sooner 
does  he  mention  the  name  of  Christ, 
than  the  whole  import  of  the  title 
flashes  upon  his  mind,"  and  he  con- 
denses the  whole  revelation  of  Chris- 
tianity in  the  first  paragraph.  Ac- 
cording to  Griesbach's  edition,  if  the 
parenthetical  clauses  in  verses  2,  3,  4, 
5,  and  6  were  left  out,  the  simple 
subject-matter  of  the  introduction 
would  read  thus :  "  Paul,  a  servant 
of  Jesus  Christ,  called  to  be  an  Apos- 
tle, separated  unto  the  Gospel  of 
God,  concerning  his  Son  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord,  to  all  that  be  in  Rome,  be- 
loA^ed  of  God,  called  to  be  saints : 
Grace  be  to  you,  and  peace  from  God 
our  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  As  Olshausen  remarks,  Paul 
directs  attention  in  his  salutation  to 
three  points:  1.  The  pre-announce- 
ment  of  the  Gospel  by  the  prophets ; 

2.  The  dignity  of  the  Redeemer ;  and 

3.  His  own  calhng  to  the  office  of  an 
Apostle. 

8-15.  The  Apostle,  having  saluted 
his  brethren  with  a  Christian  greet- 
ing, gives  in  these  verses  an  intro- 
duction to  his  Epistle,  delicate,  con- 
ciliating, and  respectful. 

8.  First.  In  order,  in  time. — 
Through  Jesus  Christ.  In  consider- 
ation of,  with  respect  to,  Jesus  Christ. 
As  stated  by  Cappe,  the  preposition 
through  here  does  not  represent  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  medium  of  conveying 
the  Apostle's  thanks  to  God,  but  as  the 
medium  of  conveying  to  the  Corin- 
thians the  blessings  that  excited  his 
thanksgivings  on  t^^eir  behalf;  and  by 
whom,  therefore,  his  gratitude  might 
be  said  to  be  inspired.  — ^  For  you  all, 
or,  as  we  should  say,  on  your  account. 
—  Your  faith  is  spoken  of,  i.  e.  with 
praise,  celebrated.  In  chap.  xvi.  19, 
it  is  "  your  obedience  "  that "  is  come 
abroad  unto  all  men  " ;  and  in  1  Thess. 
i.  8,  "  For  from  vou  sounded  out  the 


IJ 


TO   THE  ROJMANS. 


87 


9  world.     For  God  is  my  witness,  wliom  I  serve  with  my  spirit  in 
the  Gospel  of  his  Son,  that  without  ceasing  I  make  mention  of  you 

10  always  in  my  prayers ;  making  request,  if  by  any  means  now  at 
length  I  might  have  a  prosperous  journey  by  the  will  of  God  to 

11  come  unto  you.     For  I  long  to  see  you,  that  I  may  impart  unto 


word  of  the  Lord  " ;  and  "  in  every 
place  your  faith  to  God-ward  is 
spread  abroad."  The  cause  of  thanks- 
giving in  every  case  was  that  the  Gos- 
pel was  first  believed,  then  obeyed, 
and  then  professed  and  published  to 
others.  The  Apostle's  gratitude  alights 
sometimes  on  one  and  sometimes 
on  another  point  in  this  process. — 
Throughout  the  ivhole  tvorld,  which 
means,  in  the  phraseology  of  that 
day,  the  Roman  empire ;  for  that 
included  nearly  all  the  known  world. 
From  no  other  city,  in  fact,  could  the 
knowledge  of  Christianity  be  so  wide- 
ly diifused  as  from  the  city  of  Rome, 
which  was  then  the  metropohs  of  the 
globe.  The  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles 
felt  deeply  thankful,  that,  from  the 
great  centre  of  human  power  and 
fame,  the  Gospel  of  Christ  was  going 
forth  for  the  knowledge,  faith,  and 
obedience  of  the  nations,  and  he 
gracefully  compliments  the  disciples 
there  for  their  instrumentality  in  such 
a  work,  and  seeks  to  win  their  favor- 
able attention. 

9.  God  is  my  witness.  A  solemn 
appeal  to  God  in  confirmation  of 
what  he  declares.  It  is  not  an  oath, 
but  it  savors  of  the  spirit  of  an  oath. 
—  With  my  spirit,  i.  e.  spiritually, 
sincerely,  with  a  true  heart,  and  not 
according  to  a  mere  outward  ritual.  — 
Without  ceasing,  —  always.  Griesbach 
and  Tischendorf  correct  this  repeti- 
tion of  the  same  idea,  by  pointing  the 
passage  so  that  always  is  joined  to 
verse  10,  where  it  properly  belongs. 
The  whole  then  reads,  "  that  without 
ceasing  I  make  mention  of  you,  (10) 
always  in  my  prayers  making  re- 
quest," &c.  So  Luther,  Beza,  Sacy, 
and  many  others.     The  ardent  affec- 


tions of  the  Apostle  carried  in  the 
arms  of  his  prayers  his  converts  and 
all  the  disciples  of  Christ  to  the 
throne  of  grace,  where  he  unceas- 
ingly invoked  upon  them  the  needful 
blessings  of  their  condition.  1  Cor. 
i.  4  ;  Eph.  i.  16  ;  2  Tmi.  i.  3.  Since 
the  duty  of  intercessory  prayer  is 
illustrated  by  such  examples  as  those 
of  Jesus  and  his  Apostles,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  of  its  efficacy,  nor  ex- 
cuse for  its  neglect. 

10.  If  hy  any  means;  or,  that  if 
by  any  means.  Some  editions  put 
this  clause,  to  the  word  God,  in  paren- 
theses; but  it  is  to  be  taken  as  the 
burden  of  his  petition,  making  re- 
quest that  he  might  have  a  prosper- 
ous journey  to  visit  them.  The  his- 
tory in  Acts  XXV.  -  xxviii.  shows  that 
his  journey  to  Rome  was  far  from 
prosperous  in  outward  respects,  car- 
ried there  as  he  was  a  prisoner,  and 
being  shipwrecked  on  the  way ;  but 
those  were  light  things  for  his  hero- 
ism, if  he  could  be  the  instrument  of 
spreading  the  doctrines  of  life.  —  By 
the  will  of  God.  A  promise,  that  is 
never  out  of  place,  expressed  or  un- 
dei-stood,  in  the  plans  of  so  depend- 
ent a  creature  as  man.    James  iv.  15. 

11.  For  I  long  to  see  you,  %i.c.  Chap. 
XV.  23-29.  Though  the  Apostle  had 
many  personal  friends  at  Rome,  as 
the  Ust  in  chap.  xvi.  testifies,  yet  his 
great  object  was  not  -  friendship,  or 
the  pleasures  of  travel,  or  the  spec- 
tacle of  a  magnificent  city,  but  the 
promotion  in  them  and  in  himself  of 
the  purposes  of  the  glorious  Gospel. 
In  comparison  Avith  them,  all  other 
things  sunk  into  insignificance. — 
Some  spiritual  gift.  Not  mu-aculous, 
but  mutual.     Ver.  12.     The  Apostle 


88 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


you  some  spiritual  gift,  to  the  end  ye  may  be  established;  that  is,  12 
that  I  may  be  comforted  together  with  you  by  the  mutual  faith 


desired  to  aid  them,  and  to  be  aided 
himself  in  the  religious  life.  Specially 
commissioned  and  endowed  to  preach 
the  Gospel,  and  to  produce  its  super- 
human credentials,  he  was  not  above 
the  range  of  human  sympathies,  aux- 
iliaries, and  necessities.  He  antici- 
pates, by  a  journey  to  Rome,  liis 
own  growth  in  grace  and  goodness, 
as  well  as  the  confirmation  of  their 
faith.  Such  is  the  nature  of  Chris- 
tianity in  every  age ;  a  system  of 
giving  and  of  receiving,  of  blessing 
and  of  being  blessed,  of  action  and  of 
reaction  of  good ;  this  is  the  sphere 
of  vital  relations  and  influences  into 
which  we  are  introduced  by  the  be- 
nevolent Saviour. —  To  the  end  you 
may  he  established.  "  This  does  not 
refer  to  an  increase  of  knowledge, - 
but  to  a  more  lively  and  cheerful  ac- 
ceptation of  what  they  already  knew, 
to  that  more  vigorous  excitement  of 
spiritual  life  which  is  always  the  con- 
sequence of  intercourse  among  men 
of  congenial  sentiments  in  religion." 

12.  This  is  a  commentary  on  the 
preceding  verse.  He  is  afraid  he  has 
used  too  strong  an  expression.  The 
object  is  to  soften  the  bearing  which 
it  might  seem  to  have,  and  to  show 
that  his  wish  was  not  to  "  have  do- 
minion over  their  faith,"  but  to  "  be 
helpers  of  their  joy."  The  church  of 
Rome  was  not  of  his  planting,  as  was 
that  at  Corinth ;  and  we  perceive  a 
great  difference  in  the  tone  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  compared  with 
that  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians, 
arising  from  that  fact.  In  one  case, 
he  speaks  more  as  a  father  or  mas- 
ter, in  the  other,  as  a  brother  and 
equal.  This  dehcacy  of  spiritual 
touch,  to  use  a  figure  from  another 
profession,  and  this  fine  adaptation 
of  style  and  manner  to  the  occasion, 
■without  infringing  in  the  least  upon 
sincerity   and   entire   rectitude,   has 


procured  for  Paul  the  title  of  "  a  per- 
fect Christian  gentleman."  —  Cbm- 
forted  together.  Tholuck  thinks  "  the 
sense  to  be  preferred  is  to  refresh, 
stir  up,  which  is  always  the  fruit  of 
social  intercourse  between  men  of 
vital  religion."  "  We  must  not,  how- 
ever, suppose  that  mere  communica- 
tion by  word  is  here  meant ;  there  is 
also  implied  that  inexplicable,  imme- 
diate action  of  spirit  upon  spirit, 
which  takes  place  whenever  there  is 
a  fellowship  in  love,  and  more  espe- 
cially among  Christians.  —  The  mu- 
tual faith  both  of  you  and  me.*  It 
has  been  said,  that  the  moment 
another  joins  his  belief  to  our  own,  it 
adds  an  inmieasurable  strength  to 
our  assurance.  The  Apostle  has 
here  used  the  y^ord  faith  for  the  third 
time,  and  it  is  the  grand  ralljing- 
point  of  his  ideas  throughout  the 
Epistle.  But  hy  faith  he  meant,  and 
we  ought  to  understand,  nothing  nar- 
row, technical,  mysterious,  or  irra- 
tional. It  is  the  great  spiritual  p)rin- 
ciple,  in  contradistinction  to  ritual 
rules ;  the  life  of  the  new,  growing 
character,  not  the  dead  routine  of 
habit ;  the  internal  world  of  sincere, 
self-wrought  convictions  and  earnest 
purposes,  contrasted  with  a  super- 
ficies, not  of  hypocrisy,  but  of  second- 
hand notions,  adopted  habits,  and  all 
the  borrowed  garb  of  traditions  and 
conventionalities.  Faith  of  the  heart, 
deep-seated,  living,  working,  growing, 
transforming !  faith  in  God,  in  Christ, 
in  goodness,  in  immortality,  the  be- 
heving,  confiding,  aspiring,  hoping 
state  of  the  heart !  The  wonder  is, 
not  that  the  word  is  ever  hovering, 
like    a    Pentecostal  tongue   of  fire, 

*  He  deferentially  intimates  that  they  could 
benefit  him,  as  •well  as  he  them,  and  that  the 
obligation  would  by  no  means  be  all  on  their 
side.  AVhat  a  beautiful  Christian  poUteuess 
and  refinement  softens  the  zeal  of  authority 
and  apostleship ! 


I.] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


89 


13  both  of  you  and  me.  Now  I  would  not  have  you  ignorant,  breth- 
ren, that  oftentimes  I  purposed  to  come  unto  you,  (but  was  let 
hitherto,)  that  I  might  have  some  fruit  among  you  also,  even  as 

14  among  other  Gentiles.     I  am  debtor  both  to  the  Greeks  and  to  the 
10  Barbarians ;  both  to  the  wise  and  to  the  unwise.     So,  as  much  as 

in  me  is,  I  am  ready  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  you  that  are  at  Rome 


along  the  Apostle's  hne,  but  that  men, 
souls,  minds,  kindled  by  God,  should 
fall  into  such  deathlike  torpor,  as  for 
ever  to  need  the  electric  word. 

13.  Oftentimes  I  purposed  to  come 
unto  you.  Chap.  xv.  2.S,  24,  com- 
pared with  the  text  and  with  Acts 
xix.  21.  Paley,  in  his  "  Horte  Pau- 
linaj,"  draws  an  inference  from  the 
easy,  incidental,  but  uncalculated 
agreement  of  these  passages,  in  favor 
of  the  truth  of  the  history,  and  the 
authenticity  of  the  Epistles.  By  the 
induction  of  a  great  number  of  these 
particulars  of  conformity  between  the 
acts  and  the  writings  of  Paul,  he  has 
welded  an  argument  of  much  strength 
against  the  historical  doubter.  —  Let. 
Obsolete  English  for  "  prevented," 
"hindered."  Isa.  xliii.  13  ;  2  Thess. 
ii.  7.  —  Some  fruit.  The  object  was 
spiritual  benefit,  edification,  improve- 
ment^ that  almost  forgotten  word  in 
the  current  creeds  of  the  churches 
calling  'themselves  by  the  noble 
titles,  Catholic,  EvangeHcal,  Chris- 
tian. Every  verse  of  St.  Paul  im- 
plies, presupposes,  that  neither  he 
nor  his  converts  had  attained  the 
perfection  of  the  Christian  life ;  rather, 
that  they  had  but  entered  upon 
the  inunortal  race  of  progress.  —  As 
among  other  Gentiles,  or,  better,  "  as 
among  the  rest  of  the  Gentiles." 

14.  /  am  debtor.  This  is  no  merit 
of  mine  ;  I  only  do  my  duty.  Paul 
had  been  placed  under  obHgations  by 
his  special  calling  and  conversion  to 
minister  as  widely  as  possible  to  the 
world  of  the  glad  tidings  of  heaven. 
He  was  a  chosen  vessel,  Acts  ix.  15, 
for  this  purpose.    But  his  native  zeal 


made  him  feel  with  far  more  vividness 
these  obligations,  and  labor  with  far 
greater  intensity  to  fulfil  them.  1  Cor. 
ix.  16. —  Greeks^  Barbarians;  wise 
umoise ;  or,  as  we  should  say,  "  civ- 
ilized "  and  "  uncivilized  " ;  "  learn- 
ed "  and  "  unlearned."  By  the  Greeks 
were  meant  the  Greeks  and  Romans, 
who  professed  to  be  civilized,  (though 
in  reality  they  were  in  a  species  of 
barbarism,)  and  who  called  all  other 
nations,  as  the  Jews,  Egyptians,  &c., 
Barbarians.  The  terms  were  de- 
signed to  cover  all  nations  and  all 
conditions.  Paul's  mission  was  as 
broad  as  humanity.  "  The  Gospel 
claims  to  have  power  to  instruct  all 
mankind,  and  they  who  are  called  to 
preach  it  should  be  able  to  instruct 
those  who  deem  themselves  wise,  and 
who  are  endowed  with  science,  learn- 
ing, and  talent ;  and  they  shoidd  be 
willing  to  labor  to  enlighten  the  most 
obscure,  ignorant,  and  degraded 
portions  of  the  race.  This  "is  the 
true  spirit  of  the  Christian  minis- 
try."—  Barnes. 

15.  As  much  as  in  me  is.  As  far 
as  it  respects  myself;  or,  as  far  as  my 
ability  or  opportunity  may  serve.  — 
To  you  that  are  at  Rome  also.  A 
better  rendering  of  the  original  is, 
"  Even  to  you  that  are  at  Rome." 
The  point  was,  that  he  was  ready  to 
preach  the  humble  doctrines  of  a 
crucified  Master  even  to  the  proud 
and  refined  inhabitants  of  the  im- 
perial city.  He  does  not  say  "Ro- 
mans," but  "  those  at  Rome,"  Jews  as 
well  as  Gentiles.  This  ends  what 
has  been  called  the  Introduction; 
though  we  are  to  recollect  that  the 


90 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


also.     For  I  am  not  asliamed  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ :  for  it  is  the  le 
power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth ;  to  the 


Apostle  makes  no  set  divisions,  and 
follows  no  arbitrary  rules. 

16.  For  I  am  not  ashamed,  &c. 
Griesbach  and  other  critics  omit  the 
"words,  of  Christ,  as  not  in  the  Greek. 
As  has  been  remarked,  this  sentiment 
was  dictated  by  the  association  of 
ideas ;  for  after  mentioning  Rome,  the 
city  of  power  and  splendor,  he  nat- 
urally reverted  to  the  Gospel  of 
humility,  love,  and  mercy,  and  de- 
clared his  courage  to  preach  it  even 
before  the  lords  of  the  earth.  He 
should  not  blush  for  his  Divine  Master 
even  in  the  imperial  presence  itself. 
Mark  viii.  38  ;  Rom.  x.  11 ;  2  Tim.  i.  8, 
12;  1  Pet.  iv.  16;  1  John  ii.  28. 
Though  the  declaration  of  the  heroio 
Apostle  was  pecuharly  fitted  for  a 
period  when  the  name  of  a  crucified 
Saviour  was  coupled  with  infamy,  yet 
the  sentiment  is  worthy  of  adoj^tion 
now  as  then,  and  has  a  use  in  every 
age.  There  is  such  a  thing  even  at 
this  day  of  its  wide-spread  diffusion, 
and  the  general  respect  paid  to  its 
claims,  as  being  ashamed  of  the  jiure, 
undefiled,  uncompromising  Gospel. 
Among  infidels,  Avho  call  it  false, 
worldlings,  who  brand  it  as  visionar}-, 
and  bigots,  who  make  it  odious,  we 
may  shrink  from  the  full  and  fearless 
avowal  of  our  faith.  Denying  Peter 
and  timid  Kicodemus  have  had  their 
imitators  in  every  age.  But  there  is 
no  cause  to  be  ashamed  of  the  Gos- 
pel in  itself,  when  we  have  distin- 
guished its  heaven-sent  truth  from 
human  corruption,  and  its  perfect 
precepts  from  the  inconsistent  lives 
of  its  professors.  For  it  is  the  truth 
of  God,  the  hfe  of  Christ,  and  the 
salvation  of  a  sinful  world.  We 
ought  never  to  be  ashamed  to  beHeve, 
profess,  and  follow  our  Master  in  any 
circumstances  whatever,  or  at  any 
period  of  life ;  his  service  is  true 
honor  and  unfading  glory.     His  re- 


ligion "  has  an  immortal  life,  and  will 
gather  stren^h  from  the  violence  of 
its  foes.  It  is  equal  to  all  the  wants 
of  man.  The  greatest  minds  have 
found  in  it  the  light  which  they  most 
anxiously  desired.  The  most  sorrow- 
ful and  broken  spirits  have  received 
from  it  a  heahng  balm  for  their  woes. 
It  has  inspired  the  subhmest  virtues 
and  the  loftiest  hopes.  For  the  cor- 
ruptions of  such  a  religion  I  weep, 
and  I  should  blush  to  be  their  advo- 
cate ;  but  of  the  Gospel  itself  I  can 
never  be  ashamed."  No.  Its  doc- 
trines, promises,  examples,  its  cross 
and  its  crown,  are  worthy  of  all  ac- 
ceptation, of  eternal  gratitude  and 
eternal  praise. 

"  Jesus !  and  shall  it  ever  be, — 
A  mortal  man  ashamed  of  thee  ! 
Ashamed  of  thee,  ■whom  angels  praise, 
Whose  glories  shine  through  endless  days  ! 

"  Ashamed  of  Jesus  !  that  dear  friend, 
On  whom  my  hopes  of  heaven  depend ! 
No  !  when  I  blush,  be  this  my  shame, 
That  I  no  more  revere  his  name ! 

' '  And  oh  I  may  this  my  glory  be, 
That  Christ  is  not  ashamed  of  me  !  " 

—  The  potcer  of  God.  1  Cor.  i.  18, 
24.  The  dynajnis,  the  dynamical 
moral  agent  of  God  for  the  salvation 
of  mankind.  It  is  a  great  rehef  to 
human  weariness  and  distrust,  while 
engaged  in  promoting  the  influence 
of  Christianity,  to  fall  back  on  this 
proposition,  and  remember  that  it  is 
"  the  power  of  God,"  and  therefore 
instinct  with  all  the  energies  and 
means  of  a  final  victory  over  sin  and 
wretchedness. —  To  every  one  that  he- 
lieveth.  The  Gospel  is  the  power  of 
God,  but  faith  is  the  necessary  con- 
dition of  its  ef&cacy  on  the  part  of 
man.  Beheving  is  receiving  it  in 
good  faith,  as  if  it  were  the  power 
and  truth  of  God,  and  obeying  and 
practising  upon  it  with  that  full  per- 
suasion. —  To  the  Jeio  first,  &c.  Not 
by  preference,  for  the  strain  of  the 


I.]  TO  THE  ROMANS.         ^  91 

17  Jew  first,  and  also  to  the  Greek.     For  therein  is  the  righteousness 


Epistle  is  to  place  all  on  an  impartial 
platform,  but  in  order  of  tune,  and 
opportunity  of  knowledge  and  obedi- 
ence. Mat.  XV.  24.  Thus  this  verse 
may  be  said  to  contain  the  gist  of 
the  whole  controversy,  viz. :  1.  The 
Gospel  is  true,  is  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation.  2.  The  condition  on 
the  part  of  man  is  to  receive  it  in 
faith,  and  of  course  to  work  out  its 
saving  purposes.  3.  Its  universality 
over  all  religious  and  national  parti- 
tions, whether  Jewish  or  Gentile.  The 
Apostle  bears  down  upon  these  points 
with  all  the  enginery  of  his  learning, 
genius,  and  zeal,  in  the  following 
chapters ;  and  if  he  seem  obscure,  it 
is  because  we  are  dazzled  with  ex- 
cess of  light ;  or  if  doubtful  in  proof, 
it  is  through  the  complicated  abun- 
dance, not  the  poverty  of  his  argu- 
ments and  illustrations. 

17.  Therein^  i.  e.  in  the  Gospel,  is 
the  righteousness  of  God  revealed. 
Many  render  the  noun,  justification, 
pardon,  acquittal,  freeing  from  con- 
demnation, accepting  and  treating 
as  righteous.  So  Stuart,  Thomp- 
son, Improved  Version,  Bloomfield, 
Barnes,  and  a  host  of  others,  both 
Liberal  and  Calvinistic.  But  there  is 
perhaps  a  deeper  sense  than  that, 
and  one  that  also  has  its  authorities. 
—  The  rifjhteousness  of  God ;  or  rath- 
er, "  the  means  by  which  God  would 
make  us  righteous."  See  the  Scrip- 
tural Interpreter,  Vol.  VII.  p.  242.  So 
Tholuck  :  "  The  Gospel  makes  known 
a  way  to  that  perfect  fulfihnent  of 
the  laAv  which  is  required  by  God." 
So  Robinson,  in  liis  Lexicon  of  the 
New  Testament :  "  The  righteousness 
which  God  approves,  requires,  be- 
stows." So  Doddridge :  "  The  method 
which  God  hath  contrived  and  pro- 
posed for  our  becoming  righteous." 
"  The  righteousness  of  God  plainly 
signifies,  in  several  passages  of  this 
Epistle,  not  the  essential   righteous- 


ness of  God's  nature,  but  the  manner 
of  becoming  righteous,  which  God 
hath  appointed  and  exhibited  in  the 
Gospel."  So  Goadby :  "  It  may  sig- 
nify the  method  which  God  has  con- 
trived or  proposed  for  our  becoming 
righteous  ;  for  the  righteousness  which 
arises  from  a  scheme  which  God  has 
by  his  infinite  wisdom  planned,  and 
through  his  goodness  revealed  to  men, 
may  properly  be  called  the  righteous- 
ness of  God ;  and  it  may  further  be 
called  so,  as  being  that  righteousness 
which  he  requires,  or  which  is  most 
acceptable  to  him,  as  being  most 
agreeable  to  his  nature."  So  Adam 
Clarke :  "  God's  method  of  saving 
sinners."  Though  there  are  shades 
of  difference  in  these  interpretations, 
they  all  unite  in  the  common  idea, 
that  by  "  tlie  righteousness  of  God  "  the 
Apostle  does  not  here  mean  God's 
method  of  treating  the  sinner  as  just, 
but  his  method  of  making  the  sinner 
Just,  of  doing  the  ivork  ;  for  the  difii- 
culty  which  the  Gospel  meets  is  not 
how  God  should  treat  men,  and  how 
remit  their  ofiences,  but  how  men 
should  become  what  they  ought  to  be, 
just,  righteous,  in  heart  and  life. 
The  word  justification,  some  may  be 
surprised  to  learn,  occurs  but  three 
times  in  the  whole  Bible ;  and  those 
are  in  this  Epistle,  chap.  iv.  25,  v. 
16,  18  ;  and  in  every  instance  the 
better  rendering  is  righteousness.  The 
great  need  of  a  sinful  world  is  not 
justification,  but  righteousness ;  the 
righteousness  of  God ;  his  method 
of  helping  men  to  become  righteous, 
true,  pure,  good.  Doubtless  there  is 
a  secondary  idea  involved ;  and  that 
is,  the  pardon  of  those  who  have 
failed  of  doing  their  whole  dut}' ;  the 
remission  of  sins.  But  this  secondary 
idea  has  by  most  theologians  of  the 
old  schools  been  raised  into  the  place 
of  the  primary  one,  and  the  prunary 
one  has  fallen  into  a  lower  rank. 


92  THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  [Chap. 

of  God  revealed  from  faith  to  faith :  as  it  is  written,  The  just  shall 


That  the   question   opened  by   the 
Apostle  is  not  one  of  justification  so 
much    as    one    of   righteousness,   is 
demonstrated    by    what    follows,   in 
which  he  describes  the  abominable 
unrighteousness  of  the  Gentiles,  and 
also  the  loickedness  of  the  Jews  under 
the  Law,  and  therefore  the  need  of 
the  Gospel  method  of  makmg  both 
Jews  and  Gentiles  soundly  righteous, 
and  so,  of  course,  acceptable  to  God ; 
viz.  by  faith,  by  the  great  spiritual 
principle  of  Christianity,  in  contra- 
distinction to  the  mere  light  of  reason 
and  nature  among  the  Gentiles,  and 
tlie  legal  system  of  the  Jews.     Paul's 
doctrine  is,  then,  1.    A  doctrine  of 
righteousness ;  2.  By  consequence,  a 
doctrine  of  justification  ;  not  the  re- 
verse, as  too  often  interpreted.   Chap, 
iii.  22;  x.  ^-10.  — From  faith  to  faith. 
L  e.  from  one  degree  of  the  spiritual 
principle    to    another    and    higher. 
Thus  the  Listitute  988  of  Gerard  is, 
that "  a  noun  repeated,  and  governed 
by  different   prepositions,  forms  an 
idiomatical  expression,  denoting  con- 
tinuance and  increase."     Ps.  Ixxxiv. 
7 ;  Jer.  ix.  3.  Thus  Theophylact :  "It 
is  not  sufficient  to  have  believed  at 
first.     We  must  ascend  from  initial 
to  more  perfect  faith."    Tholuck  also 
understands  the  phrase  as  a  cHmax, 
and  agrees  with  Melancthon,  Beza, 
Le  Clerc,  and  others ;  but  many  take 
different  views.      The   fundamental 
idea  of  faith,  as  held  by  many,  is,  that 
it  is  capable  of  no  increase  nor  diminu- 
tion ;  that,  being  once  received,  it  is 
wholly  and  for  ever  received,  allow- 
ing neither  addition  nor  multipHca- 
tion.  But  the  general  apostoHc  repre- 
sentation of  the  spiritual  principle  of 
the  Gospel  is  its  progressive  degrees 
from  weakness  to  strength.     Such  is 
its  nature,  whether   in  the  form  of 
faith  or  hope,  which  is  but  a  species 
of  vivid  faith,  or  charity,  which  is 
human  or  brotherly  faith  and  confi- 


dence.    Chap.  vi.  19 ;  2  Cor.  il.   16  ; 
iii.  18.  —  As  it  is  written.     The  Old 
Testament  was   law,  Hterature,  and 
rehgion  to  the  Jews;   and  the  fre- 
quency with  which  it  is  quoted  by 
Jesus   and   his   preachers   shows   us 
how  essentially  the  germ  of  the  more 
spu'itual  revelations  of  the  new  were 
wi'apped  up  in  the  ruder  forms  of  the 
old  covenant.  Men  do  not  know  how 
much  they  lose  when  they  cease  to 
reverence  Moses  and  the  prophets. 
—  The  just  shall  live  hy  faith.     The 
order  and  sense  of  the  original  is, 
"  The  just  by  faith  shall  five."     So  it 
is  pointed  by  Griesbach.    It  is  a  quo- 
tation from  Hab.  ii.  4.     The  aj)pHca- 
tion  at  first  was  doubtless  to  the  evils, 
national    or    personal,    rehgious    or 
civil,  under  which  the  old  Hebrews 
were  suffering,  and  from  which  the 
faitliful  man  was  delivered.    The  use 
here,  by  accommodation,  is  to  portray 
the  effect  of  the  faith-inspired  right- 
eousness in  achieving  man's  true  Hfe. 
The  just,  or,  to  preserve  uniformity 
of  rendering,  the  righteous,  by  faith, 
shall  inherit  what  may  by  eminence 
be  called  "  life."     The  righteousness 
of  the  Gentiles  was   imperfect,  the 
righteousness  of  the  Jews  legal;  as 
Jesus   told   his   disciples    that    their 
righteousness  must  exceed  the  right- 
eousness of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees. 
Matt.  V.  20.     But  the  man  who  was 
righteous  from  the  spiritual  faith  of 
the  Gospel,  would  possess  the  true 
being  of  the  soul.     We  may  see  in 
the  general  interpretation  of  this  pas- 
sage, also,  the  swaying  bias  of  the 
ancient  theology.     The  question  was 
transposed  from  how  men  should  be 
just  or  righteous,  to  how  they  should 
Hve,  or  be  happy ;  for  the  term  life 
sometimes   means   happiness   in   the 
Scriptures.     But  the  powerful  binint 
of  the   Apostle's   eloquence   against 
Gentile  and  Jewish  errors  is  every- 
where faith-righteousness;    knomng 


I. 


TO   THE  EOMANS. 


93 


18  live  by  faith.     For  the  wrath  of  God  is  revealed  from  heaven 
against  all  ungodliness  and  unrighteousness  of  men,  who  hold  the 

19  truth  in  unrighteousness ;  because  that  wliich  may  be  known  of 
God  is  manifest  in  them ;    for   God  hath  showed  it  unto  them. 


full  well  that,  if  men's  souls  were  thus 
made  alive  out  of  the  death  of  tres- 
passes and  sins,  there  would  be  no 
danger  or  difficulty  but  what  God 
would  accept  and  forgive  them,  and 
they  Avould  live,  be  happy.  His  fears 
were  not  for  God's  government,  but 
for  man's  fulfilment  of"  its  conditions 
and  eternal  laws.  "  A  righteous  man 
is  a  man  who  is  right  in  all  his  rela- 
tions. He  is  right  towards  himself, 
having  harmony  within ;  right  to- 
wards his  fellovf-inen,  sustaining  to- 
wards them  just  the  offices,  and  cher- 
ishing just  the  dispositions,  which  be- 
come Inm  ;  right  towards  God.  Eight- 
eousness  is,  therefore,  the  one  com- 
mand, the  one  Gospel." — Gannett. 
18.  For  the  torath  of  God,  &c.  The 
righteous  displeasure  of  God  at  the  sins 
of  his  rational  creatures  is  not,  of 
course,  like  the  anger  and  wrath  which 
we  speak  of  in  reference  to  human  pas- 
sions. The  expression  is,  as  all  agree, 
anthropatliic,  or  speaking  of  God  after 
the  manner  of  men.  The  Apostle  pro- 
ceeds now  to  show  the  crying  need 
of  this  faith-righteousness,  of  which 
he  had  ijiven  a  description  in  verses 
16  and  17;  first,  i.  18-32,  by  the 
shocking  degradation  of  the  Gentiles ; 
and  secondly,  i.  1-iii.  19,  by  the 
unfaithfulness  of  the  Jews  to  their 
greater  privileges,  as  the  possessors 
of  a  special  revelation  from  God.  — 
From  heaven,  i.  e.  from  above ;  a 
divine  disclosure.  The  righteous  chs- 
pleasure  of  God  at  the  moral  disobe- 
dience of  his  creatures  is  shown  in 
the  natural  retribution  Avhich  sooner 
or  later  follows  the  transgressor,  and 
finds  him  out  with  unerring  certainty; 
also  in  the  successive  revelations  of 
the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  which  are  as 
full  of  warnings  as  of  promises ;  and, 


finally,  in  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  which, 
though  a  system  of  love  throughout, 
is  nevertheless  decisive  in  maintain- 
ing the^  integrity  of  the  moral  law, 
and  cautioning  men  against  its  small- 
est infractions. —  Ungodliness  and  un- 
righteousness. Impiety  and  injustice. 
Two  generalizations  which  respective- 
ly cover  the  violations  of  the  tAvo  great 
moral  laws,  love  to  God,  and  love  to 
man.  —  Who  hold  the  truth  in  unright- 
eousness. Or,  more  correctly,  who 
hinder,  obstruct,  or  stifle  the  truth 
by  injustice,  iniquitously.  They  re- 
pressed, as  Neander  paraphrases  it, 
the  truth  that  manifested  itself  to 
them,  the  consciousness  of  truth  that 
was  springing  up  in  their  minds, 
by  sin.  The  germ  of  truth  that  be- 
gan to  be  opened  was  crushed  and 
destroyed ;  for  the  deification  of  na- 
ture falsified  the  religious  element, 
and  turned  down  to  the  seen  and 
temporal  what  from  its  nature  is  a 
yearning  after  the  invisible,  infinite, 
and  eternal.  Such  a  perversion  must 
work  immense  mischief,  making  what 
is  highest  in  man  sink  the  lowest,  and 
throwing  the  hohest  sanctions  over 
tlie  grossest  passions. 

19.  That  ichich  may  Ijehioicn.  Not 
what  was  known,  but  what  was  know- 
able,  or  to  be  known.  —  Is  manifest 
in  them.  Is  manifested  in  their  minds. 
The  handwriting  of  God  was  upon 
their  souls,  created  in  his  image. 
God  in  nature  found  a  sense  of  God 
in  man  to  appeal  to,  where  it  had  not 
been  wronged  and  effaced.  A  divine 
hand  has  laid  deep  in  the  soul  this  ele- 
mental basis  of  worship  and  heavenly 
love,  and  the  structures  of  false  re- 
ligions stand  as  firmly  as  they  do, 
because  they  have  this  foundation. — 
God  hath  shelved  it  unto  them.    How 


94 


THE  EPISTLE   OE  PAUL 


[Chap. 


For  tlie  invisible  things  of  him  from  the  creation  of  the  world  are  20 
"clearly  seen,  being  miderstood  by  the  things  that  are  made,  even 
his  eternal  power  and  Godhead ;  so  that  they  are  without  excuse : 
because  that,  when  they  knew  Ood,  they  glorified  him  not  as  God,  21 


he  has  done  it,  is  exhibited  in  the 
next  verse.  Acts  xiv.  1 7 ;  xvii. 
26-28. 

20.  This  verse  is  a  powerful  vindi- 
cation of  the  truth  of  natural  theol- 
ogy, the  evidence  of  the  existence 
and  power  of  God  from  his  works, 
and  the  sufficiency  of  the  creation, 
were  man  true  to  his  own  nature,  to 
teach  him  at  least  some  of  the  primary 
lessons  of  the  divinity.  The  fine  bal- 
ance of  the  Apostle's  mind,  even  in 
his  intense  zeal  for  the  revelation  of 
Christ,  is  shown  by  his  concession  in 
this  passage  of  the  reality  and  power 
of  the  teaching  of  God  in  the  physical 
universe,  "  the  natural  apostles  of  the 
sun,  moon,  and  stars."  He  recognized 
the  world  as  the  shadow  of  God,  the 
evanescent  forms  of  matter  as  the 
projection  of  the  eternal  reahties  of 
the  spirit.  A  creation  crowded  with 
visible  efiects  leads  the  mind  naturally 
back  to  the  great  fountain  of  causes 
in  God.  —  For  the  invisible  things^  &c. 
Griesbach  justly  makes  all  but  the 
last  clause  parenthetical,  so  that,  if  it 
were  left  out,  the  sense  woukl  be 
complete  thus,  joining  v.  19  to  the 
last  clause  of  v.  20  :  "  God  hath  showed 
it  to  them,  so  that  they  are  TN^thout 
excuse."  —  From  the  creation.  1.  e. 
in  time,  ever  since  the  world  was  made. 
—  Clearly  seen.  Even  Aristotle  says, 
"  God,  who  is  invisible  to  every  mor- 
tal being,  is  seen  by  his  Avorks."  TJie 
natural  impression  made  on  the  mind 
of  man  of  the  being  and  attributes  of 
God  is  not  necessarily  due  to  science, 
though  it  may  be  heightened  by  it. 
The  untutored  Indian  believes  with- 
out hesitation  in  the  Great  Spirit.  — 
Being  understood.  Literally,  minded. 
The  difficulty  with  most  things  is,  that 
they  are  merely  sensed,  so  to  speak, 


not  minded  ;  mind  is  not  put  into  the 
observation,  but  eye,  and  ear,  and 
sense  only  are  concerned.  —  Even  his 
eternal  power,  &c.  These  were  "  the 
invisible  tilings  of  him."  "  The  idea 
of  almightiness  first  strikes  the  relig- 
ious consciousness  on  the  contempla- 
tion of  nature ;  and  hence  the  con- 
sciousness of  dependence  on  a  higher 
power  is  the  predominant  sentiment 
in  natural  religion." — Godhead,  di- 
vinity, or  supreme,  godlike  excel- 
lence. Wisdom  of  Solomon  xiii.  That 
the  -power  of  God  is  not  the  only 
cpiahty  enstampecl  on  the  creation,  is 
indicated  by  the  obhgation  alluded  to 
in  verse  21,  "  neither  were  thankful," 
and  by  Acts  xiv.  1 7.  Still  it  devolved 
on  Jesus  peculiarly  to  show  men  the 
Father  in  God.  —  Without  excuse. 
Idolatry  is  not  represented  as  a  mis- 
fortune, but  as  a  sin.  Of  course 
there  are  different  complexions  of 
guilt  in  different  periods  and  persons ; 
but  that  a  system  that  does  so  much 
to  imbrute  the  soul  and  deprave  soci- 
ety is  caused  by  some  moral  lapse 
and  darkening  of  the  inner  light,  is 
self-evident.  Conscience  must  have 
been  often  trodden  upon,  and  the 
strong  instincts  of  the  heart  resisted, 
before  men  could  come  to  the  woi-ship 
of  Juggernaut,  and  to  suttees,  or  the 
burning  of  widows  on  the  funeral 
pyres  of  their  husbands.  A^^en  we 
leave  the  light  of  the  soul  and  God, 
there  is  no  guaranty  against  any 
amount  of  folly  and  wickedness,  how- 
ever great  or  gross. 

21.  The  reason  why  "  they  were 
without  excuse  "  is  here  given.  The 
knowledge  they  possessed,  or  had  the 
opportunity  to  acquire,  they  did  not 
carry  into  effect,  and  consequently, 
in   process   of  time,  they  lost  their 


I] 


TO  THE  ROMANS. 


95 


neither  were  thankful ;  but  became  vain  in  their  imaginations,  and 

22  their  fooUsh  heart  was  darkened.      Professing  themselves  to  be 

23  wise,  they  became  fools,  and  changed  the  glory  of  the  uncor- 
ruptible God  into  an  image  made  like  to  corruptible  man,  and  to 


knowledge  of  the  true  God.  The 
parable  of  the  talents  contains  the 
doctrine  appUcable  to  this  subject. 
Matt.  XXV.  29.  "  If  therefore  the  light 
that  is  in  thee  be  darkness,  how  great 
is  that  darkness." — Glorified — thank- 
ful Two  points,  one  referring  to 
the  reverence  due  to  the  Divine  sov- 
reignty,  and  the  other  to  the  love  due 
to  the  Divine  goodness.  —  Vain  in 
dlieir  imaginations,  &c.  The  Apostle 
speaks  in  metaphysical  order.  Un- 
faitlifulness  to  the  sense  of  God  in  the 
soul,  and  to  the  knowledge  they  pos- 
sessed of  liim,  beclouded  their  intel- 
lect, and  then  darkened  their  heart. 
So  surely  does  the  wronging  of  any 
one  part  of  our  being,  so  fearfully 
and  wonderfully  made,  diffuse  evil 
and  misery  into  every  other  part. 
One  traitor  is  enough  to  betray  the 
whole  citadel  to  the  enemy.  Idols 
were  often  called  vanities  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, because  they  Avere  nothing. 
2  Kings  xvii.  15  ;  Acts  xiv.  15.  And 
vain  was  therefore  a  term  applicable 
to  a  mind  that  followed  them ;  while 
the  moral  corruption  flowing  from 
the  worship  of  false  gods  sufficiently 
demonstrated  the  darkness  of  the 
heart.     Eph.  iv.  18,  19. 

22.  It  was  a  peculiarity  of  the  an- 
cient sages  that  they  did  not  call 
themselves  wise,  but,  with  a  tinge  of 
affectation,  "lovers  of  wisdom,"  or 
philosophers.  This  wisdom,  which 
was  not  Avisdom,  was  the  rock  on 
which  the  Greeks  split  in  their  rejec- 
tion of  the  Gospel,  as  previously  in 
their  construction  of  a  cruel  and 
licentious  mythology.  To  men  seek- 
ing after  such  wisdom,  the  cross  of 
Christ  was  foolishness.  1  Cor.  i.  22,  23. 
These  ancient  systems  of  false  phi- 


losophy have  largely  infected  Christian 
theology,  and  perverted  the  truth  as 
it  is  in  Jesus.  It  will  be  long  before 
the  Church  will  outgrow  entirely  the 
errore  which  have  been  superadded 
to  the  simphcity  of  Christ  by  the 
pantheistic  and  scholastic  schools  of 
the  ancient  masters.  Men  still  draw 
their  ideas  of  the  nature  of  God  and 
man  from  Plato,  Aristotle,  Philo,  and 
Augustine,  more  than  from  the  New 
Testament. 

23.  There  were  three  stages  to  the 
process.  First,  false  and  foolish  sys- 
tems of  philosophy,  verse  22 ;  then 
idolatry,  verse  23  ;  and  finally,  the 
practical  immoralities  and  obscenities 
'that  flowed  from  idolatry. —  Changed, 
&c.  They  substituted  for  the  glory 
due  to  the  Eternal  God  the  homage 
paid  to  perishable  creatures.  The 
great  value  and  task  of  the  Hebrew 
revelations,  and  the  explanation  of 
many  of  the  Jewish  institutions,  was 
the  aim  to  lift  mankind  out  of  this 
pit  which  they  had  dug  for  them- 
selves. It  hardly  seems  credible, 
were  not  history  authentic  on  the 
subject,  that  intellectual  and  moral 
beings  could  sink  so  low  as  to  worship 
a  cat  or  dog,  a  snake  or  crocodile. 
Juvenal  says,  in  the  fifteenth  of  his 
Satires :  — 

"  VTho  kno'.ys  not  to  what  monstrous  gods,  my 
friend, 
The  mad  inhabitants  of  Egypt  bend  ? 
'While  these  the  ibis  piously  enshrine, 
Those  think  the  crocodile  divine  ; 
others  ..... 

Set  up  a  glittering  brute  of  uncouth  shape, 
And  bow  before  the  image  of  an  ape  ; 
Thousands  regard  the  hound  with  holy  fear, 
Not  one,  Diana  ;  and  'tis  dangerous  here 
To  violate  an  onion,  or  to  stain 
The  sanctity  of  leeks  with  tooth  pi'ofane. 
0  holy  nations  I  Sacro-sanct  abodes,    . 
AVTiere  every  garden  propagates  its  gods !  " 


96 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


birds,  and   four-footed   beasts,  and   creeping   things.     Wherefore  24 
God  also  gave  tliem  up  to  uncleanness,  through  the  lusts  of  their 
own  hearts,  to  dishonor  their  own   bodies  between  themselves : 
who  changed  the  truth  of  God  into  a  lie,  and  worshipped  and  25 


24.  Wherefore  God  also  gave  tliem 
up,  &c.  See  also  similar  phraseology 
in  verse  26.  This  language  cannot, 
of  course,  be  intended  to  signify  that 
God  does  really  forsake  even  the 
most  abandoned ;  but  it  is  a  mode  of 
speaking  of  him  from  a  human  point 
of  view.  We  may  desert  God,  but 
God  never  deserts  us.  We  must  be 
careful  in  these  cases  not  to  make 
logic  out  of  the  old  Hebrew  rhetoric. 
The  Jews,  deeply  penetrated  with 
the  conviction  of  the  dependence  of 
all  things  on  God,  referred  to  him 
and  his  working  all  events,  and  they 
at  times  seemed  to  annihilate  the  free 
agency  of  man,  when  they  really  de- 
signed only  to  express  their  conscious- 
ness of  the  superintending  providence 
and  love  of  God  over  all,  from  the 
greatest  to  the  least.  The  Apostle 
uses  the  idioms  of  his  nation.  The 
attempt  to  make  "the  theology  of 
the  heart "  stand  for  "  the  theology 
of  the  intellect  "  has  been  productive 
of  not  a  httle  evil  and  error  in  Biblical 
criticism.  The  laws  of  God  are  vin- 
dicated in  the  punishments  as  well  as 
the  rewards  of  moral  actions ;  and 
that  they  who  do  wrong  should  go  on 
from  bad  to  worse,  is  a  result  which 
takes  place  as  naturally,  under  his 
providence,  as  that  they  who  do  well 
should  go  on  from  good  to  better  and 
best.  Ecclus.  iv.  19.  The  system  is 
God's;  under  which  he  that  hath 
gains  more,  and  he  that  hath  not 
loses  even  that  he  hath.  The  lan- 
guage in  Eph.  iv.  19  is,  "have  given 
themselves  over,"  &c. —  Through  the 
lusts,  &c.  Symonds  says  in,  and 
Tholuck  to,  the  lusts.  This  revolting 
pictine  of  moral  coriTiption  reminds 
us  how  common  a  feature  Hcentious- 
ncss  is  of  all  forms  of  gross  error  aiid 


absurdity  in  rehgion.  It  would  ap- 
pear as  if  an  abandonment  of  a  tem- 
perate and  rational  faith  were  the 
signal  to  plunge  into  the  foulest  sties 
of  i^ollution.  Witness  the  history  of 
modern  fanaticisms,  as  well  as  the 
idolatries  of  the  ancient  world.  When 
the  central  light  of  creation  is  put 
out,  men  undertake  to  walk  by  the 
guidance  of  the  phosj)horic  glare  of 
their  own  most  depraved  passions. 

25.  Truth  of  God  into  a  lie.  Philo, 
in  speaking  of  the  amazement  of 
Moses  at  the  Israelites  for  making  the 
golden  calf,  says, "  What  a  lie  they  had 
substituted  for  how  great  a  reality  ! " 
Idols  were  called  "  lies,"  "  vanities," 
nothings.  Jer.  xvi.  19,  20  ;  Amos  ii.4. 
—  Worshijyped  and  served.  Better, 
reverenced  and  worshipped ;  the  first 
verb  referi-ing  to  the  sentiment,  and 
the  other  to  its  expression  in  worship, 
or  some  other  mode.  —  More  than, 
or,  rather  than.  The  proneness  of  the 
world  to  idolatry,  as  proved  by  ail 
past  history,  should  make  the  Chris- 
tian Church  extremely  guarded,  both 
in  its  doctrines  and  its  ritual,  against 
any  competition  between  any  thing 
created  and  that  eternal  and  un- 
created and  all-glorious  Intelligence 
from  whom  all  things  have  proceeded. 
It  is  to  be  feared,  however,  that  even 
the  disciples  of  Him  who  said,  "  Our 
Father  who  art  in  heaven,"  have  not 
kept  entirely  clear  of  this  insidious 
perversion  of  true  worship.  And  in 
view  of  the  corruptions  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  both  doctrinal  and  prac- 
tical, we  can  say  with  another  sense 
and  application  than  the  writer  had, 
"What  greater  calamity  can  fall  upon 
a  nation  than  the  loss  of  worship? 
Then  all  things  go  to  decay.  Genius 
leaves  the  temple  to  haunt  the  senate 


I] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


97 


served  the  creature  more  than  the  Creator,  who  is  blessed  for  ever. 

26  Amen.  For  this  cause  God  gave  them  up  unto  vile  affections  :  for 
even  their  women  did  change  the  natural  use  into  that  which  is 

27  against  nature :  and  likewise  also  the  men,  leaving  the  natural  use 
of  the  woman,  burned  in  their  lust  one  toward  another ;  men  with 
men  working  that  wliich  is  unseemly,  and  receiving  in  themselves 

28  that  recompense  of  their  error  which  was  meet.  And  even  as 
they  did  not  Hke  to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge,  God  gave  them 


or  the  market.  Literature  becomes 
frivolous;  science  is  cold.  The  eye 
of  youth  is  not  lighted  by  the  hope 
of  other  worlds,  and  age  is  without 
honor.  Society  lives  to  trifles,  and 
when  men  die,  we  do  not  mention 
them." —  Who  is  Messed  for  ever. 
Amen.  Paul  here  shows  his  educa- 
tion at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel.  After 
anything  that  might  seem  to  be 
irreverent,  both  Jews  and  Mahom- 
etans are  accustomed  to  insert  a  dox- 
ology,  as  if  to  deprecate  any  partici- 
pation in  such  impietv.  Rom.  ix.  5 ; 
2  Cor.  xi.  31 ;  Gab  'i.  5.  Tholuck 
mentions  that,  in  a  history  of  here- 
sies sprung  from  Islamism,  the  pious 
author,  as  often  as  he  introduces  a 
new  sect,  adds,  "  God  be  exalted 
above  what  they  say!"  The  word 
Amen  is  derived  from  a  Hebrew 
verb,  it  is  certain,  true,  and  implies 
assent  to  what  has  been  said,  and  a 
prayer  that  it  may  come  true.  The 
Masonic  expression  is  similar,  "  So 
mote  it  be." 

26,  27.  For  this  cause,  &c.  Like 
cleaves  to  like.  But  the  wickedness 
of  these  hcentious  idolaters  excltided 
the  pure  idea  of  God.  Their  sphere 
of  corruption  repelled  his  sphere  of 
holiness.  Without  raking  over  the 
loathsome  particulars  of  this  mass  of 
abominations,  it  is  enough  to  say, 
in  general,  that  the  ancient  Greek 
and  Roman  writers  have  left  on  their 
pages  abundant  testimony  to  the 
truth  of  tliis  picture,  in  all  its  darkest 
colors,  as  painted  by  the  Apostle. 
9 


And  the  history  of  modern  idolatry, 
as  given  by  travellers  and  mission- 
aries, presents  evidence  of  corruption 
and  gross  sensuality  scarcely  less 
horrible.  But  if  it  be  said,  as  it 
sometimes  is  done,  by  way  of  objec- 
tion to,  or  disparagement  of,  Chris- 
tianity, that  the  hcentlousness  of 
modern  cities  in  Christendom  is 
equal  in  enormity  to  any  tales  of 
ancient  or  idolatrous  countries,  it 
should  be  considered  that  these 
dreadfid  sins  do  not,  as  in  heathen- 
ism, receive  permission  or  encourage- 
ment from  religion,  but  exist  uncler 
protest  and  in  spite  of  it,  and  that 
the  whole  aim  and  spirit  of  the  Gos- 
pel is  to  purify  the  bodies  as  well  as 
the  souls  of  men,  to  carry  the  beauty 
of  holiness  into  all  the  relations  of 
the  sexes,  and  to  throw  the  check  of 
self-denial  over  all  the  animal  in- 
stincts. Lev.  xviii.  22,  23 ;  2  Kings 
xxiii.  7  ;  2  Mac.  vi.  4.  The  depth  of 
degradation  is  set  forth  in  these 
verses,  as  it  was  not  lust  merely,  but 
unnaturql  lust,  of  which  the  Apos- 
tle brings  an  accusation  against  the 
Gentile  world.  —  That  recompense  of 
their  error  ivhich  ivas  meet.  An  in- 
evitable retribution  of  course  fol- 
lowed such  violations  of  the  natural 
laws,  both  in  the  body  diseased  and 
in  the  mind  corrupted. 

28.  They  were  so  abandoned  they 
seemed  to  be  God-forsaken.  See  com- 
ments on  verses  18,  24,  26.  The 
natural  consequences  which  resulted 
from  transjxressinff  the  laws  and  econ- 


98 


THE   EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


over  to  a  reprobate  mind,  to  do  those  tilings  Tvbich  are  not  con- 
venient ;  being  filled  with  all  imrighteousness,  fornication,  wicked-  'jg 
ness,  covetousness,  mahciousness ;    full  of  envy,  murder,  debate, 
deceit,  mahgnity ;  whisperers,  backbiters,  haters  of  God,  despiteful,  so 
proud,  boasters,  inventors  of  exM  things,  disobedient  to  parents, 


omy  of  the  physical  and  moral  world 
are'  set  down  in  the  Hebrew  style  as 
a  divine  judgment.  —  Bepr abate.  An 
adjective'  dei-ived  from  the  verb 
above,  ••  did  not  hke.''  Either  a  mind 
incapable  of  moral  judgment  or  dis- 
crimination, or  one  vile  and  depraved, 
and  deserving  reprobation.  '-It  is 
properly  used  of  adulterated  coin." 
—  Xot  convenient.  Not  becoming,  fit, 
decent.  The  original  conveys  a 
stronger  sense  than  the  Enghsh  trans- 
lation. The  progress  of  wickedness, 
from  its  incipient  stages  to  its  final 
points,  is  given  with  gi-eat  vividness 
and  Hogai-thian  fidelity  and  plain- 
ness in  this  whole  passage.  It  imrolls 
from  point  to  point,  like  a  panorama. 
Becrinning  with  suppression  of  the 
innate  sense  of  the  divuie  in  the 
soul,  and  the  rejection  of  the  testi- 
mony of  natui-e  to  the  being  and 
character  of  God,  and  proceeding 
through  various  lapses  of  pretended 
philosophy  and  practical  idolatry,  the 
heathen  fell,  step  by  step,  mto  deeper 
and  deeper  degradation,  until  they 
realized  the  hideous  condition  de- 
scribed in  verses  29-32  by  the  bril- 
liant, cumulative  st^'le  of  Paul,  in 
which  one  strong  word  is  piled  upon 
another,  hke  Pelion  upon  Ossa.  The 
feet  that  Patil  had  traveUed  far  and 
wide  over  the  Eastern  world,  and 
dwelt  in  the  great  cities  of  the  most 
polished  nations,  must  add  much 
weight  to  his  testimony  over  that  of 
one  who  had  never  looked  beyond 
the  windows  of  his  own  hermitage. 

29.  Being  JiUed  with  all  unrigfd- 
eotisness.  Violation  of  the  elemental 
law  of  love  to  God  by  idolatry-,  and 
of  love  to  man  by  unnatural  lust, 
epread  disorder  through  all  the  de- 


tails of  moral  dut;^-,  and  made  everv 
point  at  which  man  came  into  con- 
tact and  relation  with  man  a  sore  and 
a  sin.  Each  word  of  this  dark  sen- 
tence conveys  a  distinct  signification. 
—  Unrighteousness.  A  general  term 
covering  the  whole  ground.  —  Forni- 
cation. All  illicit  intercourse,  Gries- 
bach  and  Tischendorf's  editions 
exclude  this  word. —  Wickedness. 
Mahce,  evil  disposition. —  Covetous- 
ness. Love  of  one's  own,  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  good  of  another. — 
Maliciousness.  Injurious  treatment, 
a  habit  of  doing  mischief  to  othei-s.  — 
Full  of  envy.  A  rhetorical  variation, 
naturally  inti'oduced  to  reheve  the 
mind.  Envy  is  the  evil  spirit  that 
grows  up  among  the  inequahties  of  the 
human  conchtion.  —  Murder.  Pubhc 
and  private,  wholesale  and  retail ;  in 
war.  the  amphitheatre,  and  by  assas- 
sination.—  Debate,  i.  e.  stiife,  sharj) 
contention.  —  Deceit.  Juvenal  says 
in  his  Satires,  '-What  shaU  I  do  at 
Rome?  I  cannot  He."  —  Mcdignity. 
More  particularly,  misrepresentation, 
a  devil  of  great  power  in  modern 
days. —  Whisperers.  Slanderers  in 
secret 

30.  Baclhiters.  Not  so,  but  slan- 
derers in  public ;  the  reverse  of 
ivhisperers.  The  want  of  a  correct 
Enghsh  version  of  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures renders  it  necessary-  to  give  a 
considerable  amount  of  mere  verbal 
criticism,  which  would  otherwise  be 
entirely  superfluous.  —  Inventors  of 
evil  things.  I.  e.,  in  the  corrupt  age 
of  Grecian  decay  and  Roman  luxury, 
of  new  pleasures,  vices,  and  cruelties, 
in  which  the  history-  of  that  period 
shows  that  kings  and  their  parasites 
abounded.      A  high    premium   was 


IL] 


TO   THE  EO]SIAKS. 


99 


31  without  understanding,  coTenant-breakers,  without  natural  affec- 

32  tion,  imijlacable,  unmerciful :  who,  knowing  the  judgment  of  Grt)d, 
that  they  which  commit  such  things  are  worthy  of  death,  not  only 
do  the  same,  but  have  pleasure  in  them  that  do  them. 

CHAPTER    n. 

The  Impartiality  and  Equity  of  the  Divine  Government,  both  to  Jetcs  and  GentiUs. 
Therefore  thou  art  inexcusable,  0  man,  whosoever  thou  art  that 


promised  by  a  Roman  emperor  to  any 
one  who  would  invent  a  new  pleasure. 
Eccles.  iii.  29.  —  Disobedient  to  par- 
ents. The  customs  of  the  heathen 
world  in  relation  to  the  exposure  of 
parents  in  sickness  or  old  age,  and 
non-provision  for  their  comfort  gen- 
erally, when  they  became  useless,  are 
incredibly  cruel  and  unnatural. 

31.  Tlie  Apostle  speaks  in  the  fig- 
ures of  rhetoric,  like  other  writers ; 
and  in  this  description  of  the  wicked- 
ness of  the  old  pagan  world,  he  em- 
ploys alliteration  in  several  instances 
in  the  original,  though  it  is  of  course 
lost  in  the  translation ;  thonon  and 
pTionon,  asunetous  and  asunthetom, 
&c. —  Without  natural  affection.  The 
case  of  sick  and  infirm  parents  has 
been  mentioned.  Children  also,  es- 
pecially of  the  female  sex,  were  some- 
times exposed  by  their  unnatural 
parents  to  wild  beasts,  or  to  die  of 
cold  and  hunger.  "  Emperors  mur- 
dered their  parents,  and  violated 
their  sisters." —  Unmercl/uL  This  has 
a  difiereut  signification  from  the  pre- 
vious woi'd  implacable.  One  word 
relates  to  their  enemies,  and  the  other 
'CO  the  poor,  afflicted,  or  sufiering  in 
general.  The  heathen  did  not  for- 
give their  foes,  and  so  were  im- 
placable ;  they  did  not  provide  for 
the  relief  of  human  distress  and  want, 
and  so  were  unmerciful.  The  whole 
ancient  world  had  not  one  hospital, 
asylum,  refuge  for  the  deaf,  dumb, 
blind,  insane,  wounded,  or  sick! 
Even  the  natural  affections  were  not 
sufficient  to  call  such  institutions  into 


being  until  the  worth  of  man  as  man, 
as  a  child  of  God,  was  revealed  in 
the  hght  of  a  divine,  immortal  feith. 
It  should  be  obsened,  however,  that 
Griesbach  indicates  the  probable, 
and  Tischendort"  the  ceitain.  omission 
ot*  implacable,  as  spurious,  in  the  text. 

32.  Judgment.  Law,  ordinance. — 
Worthy  of  death,  i.  e.  of  the  severest 
punishment.  —  But  have  pAeasure  in 
them  that  do  them.  This  was  the  cH- 
max  of  depravity.  They  not  only 
did  these  deeds  in  the  heat  of  im- 
pulse, but,  with  a  reflex  action  of  the 
understanding,  they  coolly  and  delib- 
erately approved  of  others  in  doing 
the  same  things,  or  they  bore  part 
with  them  in  doing  the  same  thmgs. 

In  such  gloom  was  the  ancient 
world  wrapt  without  revelation.  How 
blind,  and  miserable,  and  earth-bound 
a  being  was  man  when  left  to  him- 
self I  For  if  the  many  were  sunk  ia 
wickedness,  the  few  were  addicted  to 
eiTors  so  gross,  and  the  blemish  of  so 
many  coiTuptions  clung  to  their  lives 
and  characters,  as  to  leave  us  Httle 
to  choose  between  them.  Aristotle 
and  Cicero  permitting  revenge,  Cato 
suicide,  and  Socrates  saciificing  to 
-Esculapius,  were  quite  as  sad  moral 
vagaries  in  such  sons  of  hght,  as  the 
brutaUty  of  the  soldier,  the  pollution 
of  the  devotee,  and  the  hard  heart 
of  children  towards  their  parents,  in 
the  people  at  large. 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Apostle  proceeds  from  point 
to  point,  without  foTmal  arrangement 


100  THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  [Chap. 

judgest :  for  wherein  thou  judgest  another,  thou  condemnest  thy- 


or  announcement  of  topics,  leaving  to 
the  reader  to  detect  the  joints  in  his 
armor.  Without  any  title  put  to 
them,  his  writings  Avould  be  seen  at 
once  to  be  epistolary,  by  the  freedom, 
abruptness,  obscurity,  and  want  of 
finish  with  which  he  wrote.  The 
world  has  too  long  undertaken  to 
interpret  as  complete  and  methodical 
treatises  upon  Christianity  what  were 
earnest,  informal,  and  fragmentary 
•*  Tracts  for  the  Times,"  circulars  to 
the  churches,  and  letters  to  friends. 

The  present  chapter  advances  in 
the  line  of  argument  commenced  in 
the  last  one.  The  Gospel  was  a  free 
gift  to  all  men.  All  who  received  it 
on  conviction  would  be  saved  by  it. 
It  was  a  free  gift.  Neither  Jews  nor 
Gentiles  had  done  anything  to  merit 
this  Divine  interposition,  for  both  had 
sunk  into  great  wickedness.  But  as 
no  claim  existed  by  reason  of  their 
depravity,  so,  on  the  other  hand,  no 
obstacle  in  either  case  existed  on 
account  of  that  same  depravity.  The 
mercies  of  God  were  not  purchased 
by  merits,  nor  excluded  by  sins. 
Having  in  a  few  ghastly  outlines 
sketched  the  horrible  corruption  of 
the  heathen  world,  of  man  in  a  state 
of  nature,  Paul  now  abruptly  turns 
round,  and  virtually  asks  a  Jewish 
objector,  whom  he  might  readily 
imagine  "vvas  carping  by  his  side  at 
the  gross  wickedness  of  the  Gentiles, 
(putting  his  question  in  the  second 
person  to  give  force  to  his  address,) 
But  is  the  case  much  better  with  you, 
boasted  children  of  Abraham  ?  If 
the  heathen  have  been  unfaithful  to 
the  light  of  nature,  have  not  you  been 
a-hnost  equally  so  to  the  law  of  Moses 
and  its  moral  spirit?  Is  not  your 
claim  as  preposterous  as  theirs  ?  But 
Paul  in  the  discussion  does  not  limit 
himself  to  the  solitary  topic  of  the 
ground  on  which  the  Christian  reve- 
lation was  o-iven  ;  for,  breakins;  awav 


in  the  freedom  of  a  zealous  interpreter 
of  all  God's  dealings  with  man,  he 
justifies  the  ways  of  Providence  in  all 
directions,  and  announces  the  equi- 
tableness  of  the  whole  Divine  ad- 
ministration, as  commenced  in  this 
world  and  to  be  continued  in  the 
next.  It  is  still  a  great  service,  even 
at  this  late  day,  to  show  that  the 
natural  sentiment  of  justice  has  not 
been  wounded  by  the  varying  gifts 
of  either  Nature,  Providence,  or  Reve- 
lation, whether  bestowed  on  individ- 
uals or  nations.  "  Shall  not  the  Judge 
of  all  the  earth  do  right?"  Well 
does  IVIilton  pray,  at  the  beginning  of 
Paradise  Lost, 

"  What  in  me  is  dark 
Illumine,  what  is  low,  raise  and  support; 
That  to  the  height  of  this  great  argument 
I  may  assert  Eternal  Providence, 
And  justify  the  ways  of  God  to  man." 

1.  Therefore.  This  indicates  too 
close  a  logical  sequence,  where  scarce- 
ly any  exists.  It  is  rather  a  gently 
transitional  than  a  closely  consecutive 
term,  and  would  be  better  worded  by 
moreover^  then,  accordinghj.  Though, 
if  there  be  a  closer  connection,  it 
must  be,  as  Neander  says,  in  this 
way :  As  the  Apostle  had  said, 
i.  32,  that  the  height  of  wickedness 
was  that  they  not  only  did  evil,  but 
took  pleasure  in  others  that  did  the 
same,  thus  shownig  a  deliberate,  con- 
scious corruption  of  heart;  so  those 
who  know  the  law  of  God  well 
enough  to  judge  others,  condemn 
themselves  in  the  very  act  of  judg- 
ing, because  they  do  the  same  things ; 
all  the  while  showing  by  the  fact  that 
they  set  themselves  up  as  judges, 
that  they  know  Avhat  is  good,  though 
they  pursue  the  wrong.  The  infer- 
ence, if  there  be  any,  is  from  the 
guilt  of  approving  sin  in  others,  the 
Gentiles  having  a  certain  light  of 
nature,  to  the  guilt  of  condemning 
sin  in  others,  the  Jews   having   the 


II. 


TO    THE   ROMANS. 


101 


i>  self;  for  thou  that  judgest  doest  the  same  things.    But  we  are  sure 
that  the  judgment  of  God  is  according  to  truth  against  them  which 

3  commit  such  things.     And  thinkest  thou  this,  O  man,  that  judgest 
them  which  do  such  things,  and  doest  the  same,  that  thou  shalt 

4  escape  the  judgment  of  God?      Or  despisest  thou  the  riches  of 
liis  goodness  and  forbearance  and  long-suiFering ;  not  knowing  that 

5  the  goodness  of  God  leadeth  thee  to  repentance  ?     But,  after  thy 
hardness  and  impenitent  heart,  treasurest  up  unto  thyself  wrath 


clearer  light  of  the  law,  and  yet 
doing  things  as  bad  as  the  Gentiles. 
It  would  have  offended  the  Jews  to 
specify  them  by  name ;  the  change  in 
topics  is  accordingly  made  by  impli- 
cation rather  than  by  assertion.  —  0 
man^  whosoever  thou  art.  Man,  a 
covert  way  of  introducing  the  Jews ; 
and  man,  as  contradistinguished  from 
God  in  verse  2.  So  Locke.  The 
Apostle  was  always  careful  to  make 
his  argument  heavy,  but  his  ad- 
dress courteous  and  inoffensive. — 
The  same  things.  Paul  does  not  care 
to  enumerate  the  particulars ;  but 
this  declaration  of  the  gross  immo- 
rahty  of  the  Jews  is  amply  sustained 
by  the  discourses  of  Christ,  by  the 
history  of  Josephus,  and  the  fact  of 
the  retributive  overthrow  of  the  Jew- 
ish nation. 

2.  But  whatever  may  be  the  in- 
consistency of  human  judgment,  we 
know  there  is  a  judgment  somewhere 
that  is  true  and  right,  and  that  is  the 
Divine  one.  Some  suppose  a  Jewish 
interlocutor  here,  but  it  is  quite 
needless.  Though  the  Jews  are  not 
entitled,  because  of  their  own  short- 
comings, to  sit  in  condemnation  on 
the  heathen,  yet  there  is  One  whose 
judgment  is  founded  on  truth  and 
rectitude,  and  he  is  of  "  purer  eyes 
than  to  behold  evil,  and  cannot  look 
on  iniquity." 

3.  He  begins  to  unmask  his  bat- 
tery. He  here  appeals  to  the  Jew- 
ish conscience.    Chrysostom  puts  the 

9* 


antithesis  well :  "  Thou  hast  not  es- 
caped thine  own  condemnation,  and 
shalt  thou  escape  that  of  God  ?  "  The 
fact  that  you  are  the  children  of 
Abraham,  will  avail  you  nothing  in 
mitigation  of  the  sentence,  much  as 
you  may  pride  yoiu-selves  upon  it, 
but  will  rather  aggravate  your  guilt, 
because  you  have  been  unfaithful  to 
a  greater  Ught  than  the  Gentiles  ever 
possessed.  He  dimly  intimates  the 
great  argument  of  his.  letter,  that  the 
Jewish  prerogative  would  avail  noth- 
ing under  Christianity.  He  is  laying 
doAvn  self-evident  propositions,  that 
would  open  the  way  for  conclusions 
which  the  Jews  had  not  foreseen. 

4.  "  Despisest,  or  "  presumest  upon," 
or  "  misconstruest "  his  rich  and  abun- 
dant goodness.  —  Nol  knowing.  jSlore 
specifically,  not  "  considering."  — 
Leadeth.  Should  lead,  or  seeks  to  lead ; 
that  is  its  natural  effect  and  inten- 
tion. The  xVpostle  multiplies  words 
to  describe  the  enduring  mercy  of 
God ;  and  in  proportion  as  that  was 
great,  the  darker  and  deadlier  be- 
came the  sin  of  impenitence.  Tliis 
passage  is  referred  to  in  2  Peter  iii. 
15.  "Goodness"  in  both  instances 
means  not  so  much  moral  excellence 
in  general,  as  kindness. 

5.  After,  &c.  I.  e.  agreeably  to 
the  dictates  of  thy  hard  and  impeni- 
tent heart.  —  Treasurest.  Layest  up, 
httle  by  little,  as  if  it  were  something 
precious,  instead  of  vile  and  corrupt. 
A  tinge  of  irony  lurks  in  the  word. 


102 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap 


against  the  day  of  wrath  and  revelation  of  the  righteous  judgment 
of  God ;  who  will  render  to  every  man  according  to  his  deeds  :  6 
to  them  who  by  patient  continuance  in  well-doing  seek  for  glory  7 


—  The  day  of  ivratJi,  or  punishment, 
the  effect  of  indignation.  —  Revelation 
of  the  righteous  judgment.  Stuart 
suggests,  "  revealed  righteous  judg- 
ment." The  Apostle,  in  accordance 
with  Hebrew  usage,  to  which  our 
Lord  himself  conformed  in  teaching 
the  doctrine  of  a  future  righteous 
retribution,  dramatizes  the  idea  by 
fixing  on  a  "  day,"  and  announcing 
the  decision  of  a  "judge"  seated  on 
a  bench.  It  is  a  great  pity  that  the 
interpreters  of  the  Scriptures  have 
not  learned  even  yet  the  distinction 
between  the  form  and  the  substance, 
or  what  is  pictorial  and  what  is  essen- 
tial, but  often  stickle  with  as  much 
pertinacity  for  words  as  for  the  im- 
mortal truth,  which  they  convey. 

6.  According  to  his  deeds.  The 
grand  principle  is  here  announced 
of  the  impartiality  of  God's  awards, 
as  made  with  single  reference  to  life 
and  character.  The  theological  issues 
which  have  been  got  up  relative  to 
faith  and  good  works,  as  to  which  is 
the  criterion  of  acceptance,  are  irrele- 
vant. Character  is  the  test ;  charac- 
ter of  course  having  a  root  in  faith, 
or,  in  other  words,  in  a  deep,  iuAvard 
principle  of  spiritual  truth,  and  bloom- 
ing outAvardly  by  a  necessary  force 
of  hfe  in  the  flowers  and  fruits  of 
beautiful  and  useful  good  works.  If 
it  be  possible  to  state  any  doctrine  in 
human  language  so  that  it  cannot  be 
mistaken  or  misrepresented,  the  doc- 
trine of  a  righteous  moral  retribution 
is  so  stated  in  this  passage.  As  men 
Uve,  so  will  they  be  judged  here  and 
hereafter ;  live  inwardly,  in  motive, 
will,  desire,  and  intention,  as  well  as 
outwardly,  in  act,  speech,  and  habit. 
The  Gospel  does  not  alter  the  native 
grounds  of  acceptance  with  God, 
as  the  Apostle  announces  here,  ex- 
cept as  greater  privileges  establish  a 


greater  trust  to  be  accounted  for, 
and  more  animating  and  effectual 
motives  to  obedience.  The  impar- 
tiality of  the  Divine  administration  is 
evinced  in  the  award  meted  out  to 
the  Gentiles  according  to  their  lesser, 
and  to  the  Jews  according  to  their 
greater  light.  Of  course,  the  infinite, 
back-lying  cause  of  all  good  is  in  God ; 
and  man's  highest  exertions  could  not 
call  into  existence  one  pulsation  of 
the  eternal  life  of  the  spirit,  as  they 
cannot  one  sensation  of  the  mortal 
life  of  the  body.  But  then  the  life 
of  the  spirit,  as  well  as  the  life  of  the 
body,  is  dependent  on  certain  condi- 
tions, and  over  those  man  has  a  par- 
tial control,  and  so  far  as  he  has,  he 
is  responsible.  Good  works  save  no 
man ;  but  without  good  works  no 
man  can  be  saved.  The  cause  of 
salvation  is  God,  and  especially  God 
in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto 
himself;  but  the  cause  acts  through 
instruments  and  conditions,  and  those 
man  is  livingly  conscious  to  himself 
that  he  can  to  some  extent  govern. 
But  the  basis  of  his  true  action  is 
faith ;  faith  in  God,  faith  in  his  own 
spiritual  and  immortal  nature,  and 
faith  in  Christ  as  his  Divine  Leader. 
7.  Patient  conti7i uance  in  icell -doing. 
Perseverance  m  a  good  life.  Beautiful 
words  of  soberness  and  truth  !  Re- 
member that  these  are  the  wOTTls 
of  the  Apostle  of  faith,  and  that  they 
are  not  inconsistent  Avith  his  teach- 
ings of  faith,  as  constituting  the  main- 
spring of  righteous  action.  —  Glory 
and  honor  and  immortality.  I.  e.,  as 
we  should  say  in  EngHsh,  "  a  glori- 
ous and  honorable  immortality  ";  but 
it  is  much  better  and  richer  in  these 
cases  to  retain  the  HebreAv  idiom. 
"  Behold,"  says  Chrysostom,  "  Iioav,  in 
discoursing  of  the  things  to  come, 
bcino;  unable  to  describe   them,  he 


n.] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


103 


8  and  honor  and  immortality,  eternal  life :  but  unto  them  that  are 
contentious,  and  do  not  obey  the  truth,  but  obey  unrighteousness, 

9  indignation  and  wrath,  tribulation  and  anguish,  upon  every  soul  of 
man  that  doeth  evil;  of  the  Jew  first,  and  also  of  the   Gentile; 

10  but  glory,  honor,  and  peace  to  every  man  that  worketh  good ;  to 


calls  them  glory  and  honor.  For  as 
they  surpass  all  that  is  human,  human 
things  cannot  supply  any  image  ade- 
quate to  represent  them.  From  among 
the  objects  of  this  earth,  hoAvever, 
which  seem  to  us  the  brightest,  he 
instances,  and  he  could  do  no  more, 
glory  and  honor  and  life."  In  spirit- 
ual vision  and  tone  of  reality,  in 
speaking  of  things  unseen  and  eter- 
nal, we  perceive  the  unrivalled  supe- 
riority of  the  Apostles  of  Christ  over 
all  other  moral  teachers.  They  speak 
what  they  do  know,  and  testify  to 
that  which  they  have  seen. 

8.  Contentious^  &c.  Rebellious,  or 
stubborn  in  opposition.  The  Jews 
were  called  "  stiif-necked,"  and  that 
is  the  quality  indicated  here.  By 
the  truth  is  here  meant  whatever 
each  man  feels  to  be  truth,  what  is 
truth  to  him,  Jewish  truth  to  the 
Jews,  and  Gentile  truth  to  the  Gen- 
tile. The  truth  in  itself  is  one  and 
the  same  ;  but  as  seen  through  differ- 
ent mediums,  it  comes  to  the  univer- 
sal spiritual  sense,  so  to  speak,  of 
man,  shaped  and  colored  diversely,  as 
that  sense  itself  varies  in  different 
men.  The  Apostle  here  refers,  as  is 
evident  from  the  sequel,  to  this  origi- 
nal truth. — But  obey  unrighteousness. 
Are  not  true  to  their  moral  convic- 
tions.—  Indignation,  &c.  Still,  as  in 
former  instances,  anthropathic.  The 
indignation  of  God  must  not  be  con- 
founded with  the  sour  and  bitter 
petulance  of  man.  The  dialect  of 
earth  must  of  course  very  imperfect- 
ly represent  the  things  of  heaven- 

9,  10.  Tribulation  and  anguish,  &c. 
Words  are  heaped  upon  words  in  the 
fluent  speech  of  Paul,  to  depict  the 


suffering  of  the  unfaithful  soul.  The 
two  previous  terms,  the  indignation 
and  wrath  of  God,  become  here  the 
tribulation  and  anguish  of  the  wrong- 
doer. The  Apostle  constantly  de- 
picts the  punishment  of  sin  as  mental, 
not  material.  His  own  rich  and  glow- 
ing nature  taught  him  that  in  the  soul 
was  the  vital  sphere  of  ecstatic  bliss 
or  deepest  misery. —  To  the  Jew  first, 
and  also  to  the  Gentile.  The  first  in- 
dicates here  the  comparison  which 
had  already  been  implied  in  the  pre- 
vious course  of  his  argument.  The 
Jew,  first  in  privilege,  must  also  be 
first  in  punishment,  if  disobedient ; 
highest  in  reward,  if  faithful.  This 
is  nature  and  justice  as  well  as  rev- 
elation ;  and  whatever  we  may  find  in 
human  systems  drawn  from  Paul's 
Epistles,  we  never  find  in  those  Epis- 
tles themselves  aught  that  clashes  in 
the  least  with  the  eternal  sentiments 
of  equity  and  justice  and  honor,  that 
are  incorporated  into  the  substance 
of  human  nature  itself.  Difference 
of  talents  and  opportunities  affords 
no  ground  of  injustice,  for  of  him  to 
whom  much  has  been  given  much 
will  be  required.  —  Glory,  honor, 
and  peace.  No  doubt  figures  taken 
from  what  men  most  covet,  and  such 
as  set  forth  in  a  striking  light  the 
transcendent  life  and  happiness  of  a 
righteous  soul.  —  Worleth  good.  How 
plain  and  simple  and  beautiful  are 
the  descriptions  of  the  Apostle  as  to 
the  value  of  good  works,  and  the 
nature  of  the  justification  which  the 


good  may  hope  to 


Not  James 


is  more  conclusive  on  the  subject  of 
righteousness  of  life,  as  constituti.  ig 
the  onlv  foundation  of  the  Divine  oc- 


104 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[CUAP. 


the  Jew  first,  and  also  to  tlie  Gentile :  for  there  is  no  respect  1 1 
of  persons  with  God.     For  as  many  as  have  sinned  without  law  12 
shall  also  perish  without  law ;  and  as  many  as  have  sinned  in  the 
law  shall  be  judged  by  the  law ;   (for  not  the  hearers  of  the  law  are  13 


ceptance.  In  fact,  the  Apostle  was 
too  good  a  worker  himself,  not  to 
know  the  power  and  efficacy  of  an 
active  obedience. 

11.  No  respect  of  persons  ivith  God. 
However  nationally  the  Jews  might 
be  distinguished  by  the  possession 
of  a  divine  revelation,  that  circum- 
stance individually  Avould  not  alter 
the  grounds  of  the  equitable  assign- 
ment of  good  to  tlie  good  and  evil  to 
the  evil.  An  effectual  quietus  is  here 
administered  to  the  haughty  Jewisli 
pride,  which  took  airs  to  itself  for  en- 
joying, however  it  might  use,  the 
rich  gifts  of  the  Divine  mercy.  To 
rebuke  that  disdainful  selfishness  was 
one  of  the  first  steps  towards  accom- 
plishing the  object  of  the  Epistle,  and 
proclaiming  the  right  of  the  Gentiles 
to  become  Christians  without  first  be- 
coming Jews  and  being  circumcised. 
That  spirit,  once  condemned  by  Paul, 
is  still  too  rife  in  the  Christian  world, 
and  in  the  narrow  and  jealous  spirit 
of  its  exclusiveness  the  Church  has 
proved  itself  to  be  too  often  as  it 
were  only  a  new  edition  of  Judaism. 
It  has  not  come  to  be  a  superfluous 
task  to  preach  that  God  is  no  re- 
specter of  persons,  even  in  the  nine- 
teenth century  of  our  Lord.  For  the 
walls  of  caste  and  class  and  clan 
still  tower  aloft  and  divide  the  great 
brotherhood  into  hostile  sects,  parties, 
races,  and  nations. 

12.  Without  law.  Meaning  those 
who  had  no  revealed  law,  or  rule  of 
conduct,  like  the  Jews.  This  is  a 
further  elucidation  of  the  principle 
stated  above.  —  Sinned  in  the  law. 
The  Jews  would  be  judged  by  the 
light  they  had,  and  it  was  self-evident 
that,  as  their  light  had  been  clearer 
upon  the  questions  of  duty,  so  must 


their  responsibleness  be  enhanced, 
and  their  conduct  be  more  rigidly 
judged  than  that  of  the  benighted 
Gentiles. 

13-15.  Paul's  favorite  custom  of 
parenthesis.  As  he  had  advanced  a 
general  principle,  wluch  included  all 
men  in  the  impartial  government  of 
God,  he  feels  that  it  would  not  be 
perfectly  intelligible  unless  it  were 
more  fully  explained  and  amplified. 
Two  points  of  obscurity  required  at- 
tention. He  had  spoken  of  the  "  trib- 
ulation and  anguish,"  v.  9,  that  might 
come  even  on  the  Jews,  who  were  so 
l^roud  of  their  national  prerogatives 
as  to  feel  that  their  salvation  was  in- 
sured to  them.  This  problem  is  solved 
by  the  obvious  truth,  that  merely  to 
hear  the  law  would  not  avail  the 
Jews,  though  they  were  children  of 
Abraham,  unless  hearing  ripened  into 
obedience.  The  other  point  was  to 
make  it  apparent  how  he  could  prop- 
erly speak  of  a  "  law  "  in  reference  to 
the  Gentiles.  This  difficulty  was  met 
by  falling  back  on  the  moral  nature 
of  man,  and  showing  that  there  was  a 
law  written  on  the  "  heart,"  a  con- 
science, and  accusing  and  excusing 
thoughts,  which  rendered  the  Gen- 
tiles responsible  agents.  Nowhere 
more  than  in  St.  Paul,  the  supposed 
teacher  of  human  depravity,  that 
might  be  called  "  total,"  or,  as  it  has 
come  to  be  very  much  regarded  in  an 
age  •  of  the  humanities  and  philan- 
thropies, "  half  total  "  is  there  oftener 
or  more  fervently  uttered  the  noblest 
fiiith  in  man,  man  as  the  child  of 
God,  man  as  the  temple  of  the  Holy 
Spu'it,  man  as  the  receiver  of  the 
moral  law  in  a  state  of  nature,  and 
pervaded  by  those  spiritual  question- 
ings,  and    alternate    self-reproaches 


II.] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


105 


14  just  before  God,  but  the  doers  of  tlie  law  shall  be  justified ;  for 
when  the  Gentiles,  which  have  not  the  law,  do  by  nature  the  things 
contained  in  the  law,  these,  having  not  the  law,  are  a  law  unto 

15  themselves :  which  show  the  work  of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts, 
their  conscience  also  bearins^  witness,  and  their  thoudits  the  mean- 


and  self-approvals,  which  stamp  the 
lowest  of  the  race  as  bearing  one  link 
of  that  moral  chain  on  earth  whose 
other  remote  link  is  joined  to  the 
throne  of  God  in  heaven.  They  mis- 
judge and  wrong  the  magnanimity 
of  the  Apostle's  confidence  in  man, 
who  pick  out  texts  that  darken  this 
view  of  our  nature,  or  predicate  any 
other  than  an  acquired  depravity. 
He  speaks  vividly  of  the  wickedness 
of  the  world,  yet  not  as  natural,  but 
as  unnatural ;  as  the  abuse  of  those 
powers  which  God  had  originally  be- 
stowed. The  depth  to  which  man 
sank  showed  the  height  from  which 
he  fell.  The  dark  list  of  his  wicked- 
nesses set  off  by  contrast  the  fearful 
abuse  of  those  powers  which  glowed 
originally  with  a  divine  purity  and 
brightness. — Jusl^  justified.  The  fact 
that  these  two  terms  are  used  in  op- 
posite members  of  the  same  antithesis 
demonstrates  that  their  signification  is 
similar  ;  for  the  primary,  elementary 
idea  is  in  both  terms  the  being  just  in 
itself  considered,  and  the  secondary 
and  inferred  idea,  the  being  regarded 
as  just  by  another,  the  legitimate  con- 
sequence, of  course,  of  being  just  in 
one's  self.  It  would  be  equally  good 
for  the  argument  to  put  "just"  in  the 
last  as  in  the  first  clause  of  the  sen- 
tence, and  read  the  whole  thus :  "  For 
not  the  hearers  of  the  law  are  just  be- 
fore God,  but  the  doers  of  the  law  shall 
be  just."  Tischendorf  omits  the  before 
law,  thus  making  the  proposition  gen- 
eral. They  shall  of  course  be  re- 
garded and  judged  as  just.  Tlie  most 
unanswerable  commentary  on  the 
Scriptures  is  that  Avhich  the  S.'rip- 
tures  themselves  afford.  —  Are  a  law 


unto  themselves.  Tlie  heathen  na- 
tions do  not  agree  with  one  another 
as  to  the  code  of  moral  action,  but 
none  are  so  degraded  as  to  repudiate 
all  distinctions  of  right  and  wrong. 
Some  things  are  good,  morally,  and 
some  are  bad,  morally,  even  in  the 
Hottentot  kraal  and  the  Austra- 
lian bush.  Conscience  and  God  are 
said  by  travellers  to  have  terms  for 
their  expression  in  every  lang-uage, 
however  meagre.  On  this  original 
moral  basis  in  man,  it  is  evident,  the 
revealed  law  must  rest  for  its  founda- 
tion. Revelation  comes  not  to  create, 
but  to  educate.  It  is  light  where 
there  was  before  an  eye  to  see,  it  is 
bread  Avhere  there  Avas  before  a  palate 
to  taste  and  a  stomach  to  digest.  No 
real  advantage  is  ever  permanently 
gained  by  undervaluing  the  natural 
moral  sense  for  the  sake  of  glorifying 
revelation.  None  were  more  ready 
than  the  bearers  of  these  special  mer- 
cies to  men,  to  acknowledge  and  ap- 
preciate the  indestructible  elements 
of  morals  and  faith  in  human  nature 
itself  Would  that  their  followers  had 
been  as  considerate  ! — The  icork  of 
the  law.  The  working  operation  of 
the  natural  law,  which  he  goes  on 
to  particularize  below.  —  Conscience. 
Better,  consciousness,  moral  sense  of 
good  and  evil  in  its  exercise.  This 
is  introduced  to  explain  what  he 
means  by  the  law  written  in  the  heart. 
The  recognition  of  conscience  is  abun- 
dant in  heathen  literature. —  Their 
thoughts  the  ineanwhile,  &c.  Their 
thoughts  alternately  accusing  and  ex- 
cusing one  another.  This  refers  to  a 
second  and  subsequent  action  of  the 
mind,  when  it  more  deliberately  re- 


106 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[CHAr. 


while  accusing  or  else  excusing  one  another;)  — in  the  day  when  is 
God  shall  judge  the  secrets  of  men  by  Jesus  Christ  according  to  my 
Gospel.     Behold,  thou  art  called  a  Jew,  and  restest  in  the  law,  and  n 


views  and  rejudgcs  its  actions  and 
motives.  Man  has  sometimes  been 
compared  to  a  court,  in  which  the 
heart  is  judge,  conscience  is  the  jury, 
consciousness  and  memory  the  wit- 
nesses, the  thoughts  the  counsel,  ac- 
cusing and  excusing  one  another. 
Consciousness  and  memory  bear  tes- 
timony as  to  the  fact  itself  alleged. 
The  thoughts  busily  suggest  this  or 
that  thing  in  aggravation  or  extenua- 
tion of  the  offence.  Conscience,  as  a 
jury,  simply  decides  on  the  law  and 
fact,  whether  the  individual  be  guilty 
or  not.  And  the  heart,  or  combined 
moral  man,  pronounces  sentence  ac- 
cording to  the  decision  of  the  moral 
sense  and  the  circumstances  of  the 
case,  mingling  mercy  with  justice. 
Such  comparisons,  however,  are  very 
liable  to  mislead,  if  pressed  into  too 
many  particulars,  and  taken  accord- 
ing to  the  letter  and  not  the  spirit. 
Analogies  are  very  good  for  illustra- 
tions, but  they  make  hazardous  argu- 
ments. 

16.  In  the  day.  A  resumption  of 
the  subject  of  v.  1 2.  "  When  "  would 
express  the  simple  sense  of  "  the 
day,"  without  its  dramatic  garb.  — 
The  secrets  of  men ^  i.  e.  not  only  their 
open  acts,  but  their  hidden  purposes 
and  motives,  will  be  subjects  of  judg- 
ment, for  from  these  their  open  acts 
have  proceeded.  The  decisions  of 
human  conscience  would  be  corrected 
by  the  Divine  tribunal.  Eccles.  xii. 
14;  1  Cor.  iv.  5.  —  By  Jesus  Christ. 
The  distinct  and  independent  per- 
sonality of  Christ,  as  another  being 
than  God,  could  not  in  any  form 
of  language  be  more  explicitly  an- 
nounced tlian  in  the  text.  "  By " 
expresses  agency  and  subordination, 
and  it  is  to  be  observed  that  this  ex- 
ercise of  the  office  of  judge  is  dated 


in  the  future,  indicating  that  the  sep- 
arate identity  of  Christ  continues  be- 
yond this  world.  John  v.  27. —  Gos- 
j)el.  In  its  ecclesiastical,  not  histori- 
cal sense.  Paul,  without  a  doubt,  re- 
fers not  to  any  Gospel  he  had  written, 
but  to  his  preaching  of  the  Gospel. 
Rom.  xvi.  25. 

17.  Behold.  Griesbach  and  Tis- 
chendorf  correct  the  text  so  that  it 
reads  "  but  if,"  which  better  suits  the 
logic.  The  Apostle  here  tightens  the 
chain  of  his  reasoning  in  relation  to 
the  Jews,  and  unfolds  more  fully  the 
bearing  of  his  argument,  that  the 
greater  were  their  opportunities  of 
light  and  knowledge,  the  less  excusa- 
ble were  they  for  doing  what  they 
condemned  in  the  Gentiles  ;  and  that 
if  the  Mosaic  law  had  thus  failed  of 
perfecting  their  life,  how  much  was 
the  greater  motive-power  of  the  Gos- 
pel needed  !  —  Thou.  He  uses  the 
singular  number  rhetorically,  and 
thus  makes  his  appeal  more  direct 
and  pungent. — Art  called, kc.  Mac- 
knight  writes  "  surnamed."  The  high 
distinction  is  thine  of  being  called  a 
Jew.  No  terms  could  be  more  op- 
probrious than  those  with  which  the 
Jews  loaded  the  Gentiles.  Paul  se- 
lects the  points  of  national  pride 
among  his  countrymen  with  the  un- 
erring instincts  of  his  own  experi- 
ence.— Restest  in  the  laic.  Stuart, 
"leanest  on  the  law."  The  fallacy 
of  the  Jews  was  to  rest  in  the  law 
as  final,  when  by  its  very  nature  it 
was  progressive  and  prospective,  and 
served  only  as  a  schoolmaster  to 
b)ing  them  to  a  greater  teacher, 
Christ. — Mahest  thy  boast  of  God. 
Gloriest  in  God  as  peculiarly  thy 
God,  a  local,  national  Divinity,  not 
the  Father  of  universal  humanity. 
Deut.  iv. 


II.l 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


107 


18  makest  thy  boast  of  God,  and  knowest  his  will,  and  approvest  the 

19  things  that  are  more  excellent,  being  instructed  out  of  the  law ;  and 
art  confident  that  thou  thyself  art  a  guide  of  the  bhnd,  a  hght  of 

20  them  which  are  m  darkness,  an  instructor  of  the  foolish,  a  teacher 
of  babes,  which  hast  the  form  of  knowledge  and  of  the  truth  in  the 

21  law.      Thou  therefore  which  teachest  another,  teachest  thou  not 
thyself?  thou  that  preachest  a  man  should  not  steal,  dost  thou  steal  ? 

22  thou  that  sayest  a  man  should  not  commit  adultery,  dost  thou  com- 
mit adultery  ?  thou  that  abhorrest  idols,  dost  thou  commit  sacrilege  ? 

23  thou  that  makest  thy  boast  of  the  law,  through  bi^eaking  the  law 


18.  Knowest  his  icill.  It  was  the 
boast  of  the  Jews  that  they  had  been 
admitted  into  the  inner  counsels  of 
the  Ahnighty,  and  they  took  airs  of 
great  superiority  to  the  rest  of  man- 
kind on  that  account,  though,  as  the 
event  has  proved,  they  were  Winded 
to  the  beneficent  plan  by  which  all 
mankind  would  be  comprehended  in 
the  impartial  love  and  salvation  of 
the  Father  of  all. — Approvest,  &c. 
The  Uteral  sense  is,  "  triest  the  tliino-s 
that  difier";  but  on  this  is  gvafted  in 
the  usage  of  language  the  secondary 
idea,  that  in  this  trial  the  things  that 
are  worthy  are  approved,  and  the  op- 
posite rejected.  This  clause  refers 
to  that  educated  and  discriminating 
moral  sense  Avhieh  was  trained  under 
the  system  of  Mosaic  laws  and  insti- 
tutions. The  moral  code  of  the  Jews 
was  elevated  as  much  above  that  of 
other  nations  of  antiquity,  as  their 
worship  transcended  the  grovellings 
of  idolatry. 

19,20.  A  guide,  —  a  light,  —  an  in- 
structor, —  a  teacher.  The  New  Tes- 
tament gives  us  many  intimations  of 
the  spiritual  pride  with  which  the 
Jewish  people  looked  down  from  the 
height  of  their  privileges  on  the  rest 
of  the  world,  and  the  jealous  exelu- 
siveness  with  which  they  claimed  to 
be  guides  and  teachers  of  others, 
while  they  called  the  Gentiles  "  blind," 
"in  darkness,"   "foolish,"  "babes"; 


and  the  writings  of  the  Rabbins  are 
full  of  illustrations  of  the  same  dispo- 
sition. The  fact  was,  that  they  had 
superior  advantages,  but  the  infer- 
ence they  deduced  from  it  was  false 
and  mischievous,  viz.  a  lordly  arro- 
gance and  a  narrow  contempt,  and 
the  practical  fruit  in  self-complacent 
corruption  of  life  and  character  was 
still  more  deadly.  Matt.  xi.  25 ;  xv.  14 ; 
xxiii.  la.  —  Hast  the  form  of  knowl- 
edge and  of  the  truth  in  the  law  ;  i.  e., 
dropping  the  Hebraism,  "  the  form  of 
true  knowledge  in  the  laAv."  The 
great  outlines  of  truth  were  delineat- 
ed by  Moses  and  the  Prophets,  but  it 
remained  for  Christ  to  clothe  those 
outlines,  grand  as  they  were,  with  the 
humanized  and  intelligible  spirit  of 
the  Father.  "  God  is  one,"  meets  the 
want  of  the  mind.  "  God  is  a  Par- 
ent," satisfies  the  heart.  In  these 
verses  the  writer  dwells  at  length  on 
all  the  points  of  national  boasting 
among  the  Jews,  that  he  may  make 
the  better  preparation  for  the  reproof 
he  was  about  to  administer  in  the  sub- 
sequent passage. 

21-23.  He  gives  additional  em- 
phasis by  putting  the  appeal  to  their 
consciences  in  the  interrogative  form. 
He  specifies  the  well-known  immoral- 
ities of  the  Jewish  people,  and  even 
of  their  rulers  and  priests  and  teach- 
ers, as  glaring  violations  of  that  more 
perfert   form   of  religious   truth   of 


108 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


dislionorest  tliou  God  ?      For   the   name  of  God  is  blasphemed  24 
among  tlie  Gentiles  through  you,  as  it  is  written.     For  circumcision  25 
verily  profiteth,  if  thou  keep  the  law  :  but  if  thou  be  a  breaker  of  the 
law,  thy  circumcision  is  made  uncircumcision.     Therefore,  if  the  20 
uncircumcision  keep  the  righteousness  of  the  law,  shall  not  his  un- 
circumcision be  counted  for  circumcision  ?     And  shall  not  uncir-  27 


which  the  Hebrew  commonwealth 
had  been  made  the  depositary.  That 
a  great  depravation  of  manners  and 
morals  had  crejot  into  the  Holy  Land 
is  sufficiently  proved  by  the  conces- 
sions of  Josephus  and  other  Jewish 
writers,  as  well  as  by  the  rebukes  of 
Christ  and  his  disciples  and  apostles. 
The  various  specifications  of  Paul 
are,  however,  rather  to  be  received 
rhetorically  than  logically,  though 
without  question  theft,  adultery,  sac- 
rilege, and  blasphemy  were  throw- 
ing, at  that  period,  dark  shadows  over 
the  Jewish  name,  and  dishonoring 
Him  whom  they  worshipped,  among 
the  heathen  nations  throughout  which 
they  were  scattered  abroad.  As  il- 
lustrative of  this  passage^  consult  the 
following:  Matt. ii.  5-14;  iii.  10;  also, 
the  vials  of  a  holy  indignation  poured 
out  in  Matt,  xxiii.,  Mark  vii.  7-13, 
from  the  lips  of  mercy  itself. 

24.  As  Paul  was  writing  to  the 
Jews  in  a  considerable  measure,  he 
uses  the  anjumentum  ad  hominem,  the 
personal  argument,  and  substantiates 
his  positions  out  of  the  mouth  of  their 
own  revered  prophets.  We  may  sup- 
pose that  he  had  several  passages  in 
his  mind,  at  the  moment  of  writing, 
as  well  as  the  general  strain  of  pro- 
phetic remonstrance.  See  2  Sam. 
xii.  14 ;  Neh.  v.  9 ;  Is.  hi.  5  ;  Ezek. 
3jcxvi.  23. 

25.  It  shows  the  immense  transition 
through  which  the  mind  of  the  Apos- 
tle had  passed  in  its  moral  revolution, 
to  set  such  a  declaration  as  this  by 
the  side  of  his  blind  zeal  for  Juda- 
ism and  perset-ution  of  the  Christian 
Church,  that  dated  back  but  a  few 


years.  No  doubt  circumcision  to  the 
true  Jew  was  good,  as  an  expression 
of  fealty  to  God,  a  signature  written 
in  blood,  of  obedience  to  what  he  felt 
to  be  a  divine  command,  as  is  every 
act,  be  it  a  sigh,  or  a  tear,  or  a  word, 
by  which  the  soul  indicates  its  rela- 
tion to  the  Highest.  But,  of  course, 
all  the  truth  and  efficacy  of  rites  and 
ceremonies,  under  whatever  system, 
older  or  later,  depend  on  the  sincer- 
ity and  earnestness  with  which  they 
spring  from  a  moved  soul  at  the  time, 
and  are  indorsed  by  a  good  life  after- 
wards. It  is  observable  that  circum- 
cision stands  for  Judaism,  as  the  cross 
for  Christianity. 

26.  Paul  carries  his  triumph  still 
farther  into  the  adversary's  country. 
He  had  just  rebuked  the  presumption 
of  the  faithless  .lew ;  he  now  encour- 
ages the  humility  of  the  faithful  Gen- 
tile. There  is  a  running  argument 
conveyed  by  implication  all  along  in 
these  verses.  Its  purport  is,  that  if, 
even  under  the  former  dispensation, 
righteous  uncircumcision  was  better 
than  unrighteous  circumcision,  how 
much  more  would  the  same  principle 
hold  good  under  the  spiritual  system 
of  Christianity,  and  how  vain  to  re- 
quire the  Gentiles  to  be  Jews  before 
they  could  be  recognized  as  Chris- 
tians ! 

27.  The  tables  would  be  turned. 
The  Jews  who  began,  ver.  1,  with  tak- 
ing the  bench  of  judgment,  would  find 
himself  at  the  criminal's  bar,  while 
the  man  whom  he  had  contemned  as 
the  culprit  would  be  seen  rising  into 
the  majesty  of  the  judge.  We  must 
remember  that  this  Epistle,  though 


III. 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


109 


cumcision  which  is  by  nature,  if  it  fuhil  the  law,  judge  thee,  who  by 

28  the  letter  and  circumcision  dost  transgress  the  law  ?  For  he  is  not 
a  Jew  which  is  one  outwardly ;  neither  is  that  circumcision  wliich 

29  is  outward  in  the  flesh :  but  he  is  a  Jew  which  is  one  inwardly ; 
and  circumcision  is  that  of  the  heart,  in  the  spirit,  and  not  in  the 
letter ;  whose  praise  is  not  of  men,  but  of  God. 

CHAPTER   HI. 

A  Descri2)tion  of  the  Wkledness  of  the  Jews,  as  icell  as  of  the  Gentiles,  and  the  Insif- 
ficiency  of  the  Law,  unless  it  were  fulfilled  by  the  Righteousness  of  Faith. 

What  advantage  then  hath  the  Jew  ?  or  what  profit  is  there  of 


addressed  to  the  Romans,  was  in- 
tended for  Roman  Jews  in  general, 
or  those  who,  once  Jews,  had  then 
become  Christians.  Paul  takes  them 
on  their  own  ground,  and  by  holding 
up  the  liigh  spiritual  demands  even  of 
the  Law,  demolishes  their  boasted  in- 
fallibility and  sinlessness  as  Jews,  and 
shows  the  superiority  of  the  faithful 
heathen  over  the  faithless  Hebrew. 
He  breaks  to  pieces  their  national 
idols,  and,  including  all  under  the 
same  category  of  disobedience,  infers 
the  universal  need  of  Christ. 

28,  29.  The  teeming  mind  of  Paul 
is  not  content  with  following  a  single 
line  of  thought,  but  it  throws  out 
filaments  of  attachment  and  nutri- 
ment on  every  side,  like  a  vigorous 
and  deeply  rooted  tree.  While  the 
upshot  of  his  Epistle  is  Christianity, 
he  reflects  back  Hght  on  the  Law,  and 
defines  the  true  Jew.  At  the  very 
moment  when  he  would  lift  the 
minds  of  his  readei'S  above  the  nar- 
rowness of  that  sectarian  spirit  among 
his  JeAvisli  brethren,  which  "  gave  to 
party  what  was  meant  for  mankind," 
he  dignifies  the  Law  even  more  than 
its  own  upholders  did,  by  analyzing 
its  vital  spirit,  and  detecting  in  it  the 
immortal  essence  of  truth,  and  in 
faithful  obedience  to  it,  an  allegiance 
of  the  heart  to  God.  For  the  doc- 
trine which  Paul  here  advocates,  he 
could  adduce  numerous  testimonies 
10 


from  both  the  earher  and  later  dis- 
pensations, which  agreed  in  laying 
the  stress  of  obedience  on  the  heart, 
and  not  on  external  conformity. — 
Neither  is  that  circumcision,  &c. ;  as 
if  he  had  said,  that  is  not  circum- 
cision which  is  onhj  outward  in  the 
flesh.  The  Jewish  observances,  ex- 
ternal as  they  were,  had  their  only 
living  roots  in  the  heart,  and  if  they 
failed  of  that  spiritual  hold,  they 
proved  but  a  "  sere  and  yellow  leaf" 
Unfaithful  as  the  Jews  often  proved 
to  this  code  of  definite  and  impera- 
tive law,  and  therefore  falling  even 
below  the  better  class  of  Gentiles, 
who  were  a  law  unto  themselves, 
the  Apostle  clearly  demonstrates  the 
want  of  that  quickening  spiritual 
faith,  which,  as  a  moral  principle, 
would  accomphsh  what  a  mere  legal 
principle  never  could  effect,  a  regen- 
erated and  progressive  life  of  the  soul, 
a  steady  assunilation  to  the  Father 
through  the  Son. 

CHAPTER  HI 

Another  link  of  the  argument  is 
presented.  If  the  Jew  were  entitled 
to  no  precedence  over  the  Gentile  in 
receiving  the  new  gift  of  God  in  tlie 
Christian  dispensation,  then  the  ob- 
jector would  cavil  at  the  advantage 
of  being  a  Jew  at  all  and  living  under 
the  Law  and  the  Prophets.  To  this 
disputant    the    unflinching    Apostle 


110 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[ClIAP. 


circumcision  ?     Much,  every  way :  chiefly,  because  that  unto  them  2 
were  committed  the  oracles  of  God.     For  what  if  some  did  not  3 
beheve  ?  shall  theii*  unbelief  make  the  faith  of  God  without  effect  ? 
God  forbid :  yea,  let  God  be  true,  but  every  man  a  Har ;  as  it  is  4 
written.  That  thou  mightest  be  justified  in  thy  saymgs,  and  might- 
est  overcome  when  thou  art  judged.     But  if  our  unrighteousness  5 
commend  the  righteousness  of  God,  what  shall  we  say  ?     Is  God 
unrighteous  who  taketh  vengeance  ?     I  speak  as  a  man ;  God  for-  6 


now  addresses  himself,  and  adopts 
the  Socratic  method  of  question  and 
answer. 

1.  The  Jewish  adherent  is  sup- 
posed to  speak  and  catechize  the 
Apostle  as  to  the  proud  preeminence 
of  his  nation,  as  one  favored  by  God, 
and  whose  distinguishing  badge  and 
symbol  was  circumcision. 

2.  This  verse  begins  the  reply  to 
the  above  objection.  Discarding  the 
numerous  pri\aleges  of  the  Jews, 
which  he  recounts  in  chap.  ix.  4,  5, 
Paul  seizes  upon  the  Scriptures  as  a 
sufficient  answer  on  this  occasion, 
constituting  as  they  did  so  rich  a 
source  of  spiritual  hfe  and  inspiration. 
They  are  called  elsewhere.  Acts  vii. 
38,  the  lively,  or  life-giving  oracles. 

3.  But  might  not  tliis  advantage 
of  possessing  the  Scriptures  be  over- 
ruled. For  of  what  use  was  the  in- 
strmnent  if  it  were  not  received  and 
applied  in  faith  ?  The  truth  was,  as 
hinted  in  the  first  clause,  that  some, 
many,  did  not  believe,  but  that  sin 
could  not  render  ineffectual  the  faith, 
or,  better  rendered,  the  faithfulness 
of  God.  His  benevolent  purpose 
stood,  though  man  failed  in  doing  the 
part  assifjned  to  him.  Macknioht  and 
some  other  critics  assign  this  verse  to 
the  Jewish  objector,  rendering  the 
last  question,  "  shall  not  their  unbe- 
Hef,"  &c. 

4.  God  forbid.  There  is  no  word 
God  in  the  Greek ;  it  is  simply,  Let 
it  not  be,  or  may  it  not  be  so.  —  Let 
God  he  true,  &c.     It  is  better  to  sup- 


pose God  is  faithful,  even  if  it  should 
drive  us  to  the  conclusion  that  all 
men  were  steeped  in  falsehood.  At 
all  hazards,  we  know  and  are  sure, 
that,  if  there  is  evil  on  any  hand,  it  is 
not  in  God. —  Tliat  thou  rnightest  he 
justified.  Ps.h.  4.  Ever}' examination 
into  the  works  or  ways  or  word  of 
the  All-Perfect  One  can  of  course 
only  reveal  more  distinctly  his  glori- 
ous goodness  and  justice. 

5.  The  opponent  again  speaks.  If 
all  the  sin  and  evil  in  the  world  only 
enhance  the  justice  and  glory  of 
God,  because  they  call  forth  those 
attributes  to  aid  in  overcoming  them, 
then  why  should  such  useful  servants 
of  the  Almighty  suffer  condemnation? 
It  is  a  natural  and  powerful  objec- 
tion. As  Paul  asks,  Paul  only  could 
answer  it.  —  Commend^  i.  e.  illus- 
trate, or  honor.  —  /  speah  as  a  man. 
Humanly  speaking ;  speaking  as  men 
do. 

6.  The  reply  of  the  Apostle  is 
abbreviated  and  suggestive  ;  as  if  he 
had  said.  What  righteous  judo;ment 
could  there  be  upon  such  principles  ? 
and  we  know  that  the  Judge  of  all 
the  earth  will  do  right.  Gen.  xviii. 
25.  The  fact  of  such  a  boundless 
authority  as  is  invested  in  God  ex- 
cludes the  possibility  of  his  confound- 
ing right  with  wrong,  as  the  above 
supposition  would  imply.  In  such  prin- 
ciples the  fact  of  a  righteous  adminis- 
tration of  the  affairs  of  God's  moral 
government  must  be  given  up,  be- 
cause men  would  not  be  responsible. 


III.] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


Ill 


7  bid :  for  then  Low  sliall  God  judge  the  world  ?     For  if  the  truth  of 
God  hath  more  abounded  through  my  lie  unto  his  glory,  why  yet 

8  am  I  also  judged  as  a  sinner  ?     And  not  rather,  as  we  be  slander- 
ously rejDorted,  and  as  some  affirm  that  we  say,  Let  us  do  evil,  that 

9  good  may  come  ?  whose  damnation  is  just.     TThat  then  ?  are  we 
better  than  they  ?    No,  in  no  wise  :  for  we  have  before  proved  both 


The  reference  to  Abraham  would  be 
effectual  with  the  Jews. 

7.  This  verse  is  still  a  continuation 
and  amplification  of  what  the  Jewish 
interlocutor  objected  in  verse  5,  and 
which  was  interrupted  by  the  Apos- 
tle repelling  instantly  in  verse  6  the 
idea  that  God  would  not  judge  the 
world,  and  that  he  would  not  judge 
it  in  righteousness.  If  the  sins  of 
men  are  the  occasion  of  more  flilly 
revealing  the  lustre  of  the  Divine 
truth  and  mercy,  why  are  those  sins 
punishable,  and  not  rather  matters 
of  honor  and  reward  ?  Cavillers  of 
every  age  have  harped  on  the  same 
rusty  chord.  It  is  enough  to  say, 
that  though  the  cloud  and  the  rain  do 
give  some  rich  prismatic  tints  of  the 
light  of  the  sun,  which  his  fuU  beams 
would  not  peld,  yet  his  greatest 
glory  and  majesty  are  in  his  un- 
clouded and  meridian  shining.  The 
light  of  heaven  breaks  through  the 
darkest  sins  of  men ;  but  far  more 
Avould  the  goodness  of  God  be  seen 
and  felt  if  they  had  always  been  true 
and  faitliful.  But  being  finite  and 
imperfect,  that  is  simply  to  suppose 
an  impossibihty. 

8.  This  is  accounted  the  rejoinder 
of  the  Apostle.  The  and  implies  the 
continuation  of  his  argument,  and  the 
idea  seems  to  be  to  carry  out  the 
objector's  sophism  in  the  previous 
verse,  and  show  its  absurdity  by  its 
mere  statement.  "Why  should  we  not 
then,  according  to  your  principles, 
avow  the  doctrine  (which  we  are 
unjustly  accused  of  holding)  of  doing 
evil  that  good  may  come  V  You  ac- 
knowledge that  is  wrong ;  the  very 


accusation  against  us  imphes  that  its 
condemnation  is  regarded  as  just. 
VThy  do  you  then  adopt  a  sentiment 
which  leads  to  the  same  conclusion  ? 
Theodoret  says,  "  It  is  right  to  know 
that,  when  the  holy  Apostles  taught 
that  where  sin  hath  abounded  grace 
did  much  more  abound,  some  profes- 
sors of  the  old  religion,  spreading 
falsehoods  to  their  prejudice,  reported 
that  they  said,  Let  us  do  e^^^  that 
good  may  come."  —  Slanderously  re- 
jyorted.  Blasphemously  said.  —  Let  us 
do  evil,  &c.  This  principle  of  ex- 
pediency has  been  too  general  in 
every  age,  but  it  has  been  associated 
in  most  Protestant  minds  with  the 
order  of  Jesuits  in  modern  times. 
All  who  take  any  other  principle 
than  the  right  as  their  idtimate  stand- 
ard, fall  under  this  category  and 
condemnation.  Nothing  short  of  be- 
lieving the  true,  loving  the  good,  and 
doing  the  right,  can  fill  out  the 
measure  of  a  true  disciple  of  Christ. 
—  Damnation.  A  Calvinism  for  con- 
demnation. The  figurative  language 
of  the  Bible  is  always  sufficiently 
expressive  vrithout  our  Enghsh  addi- 
tions. Doddridge  regretted  extremely 
some  of  these  harsh  renderings.  There 
is  no  reference  whatever  to  a  future 
state,  but  a  simple  declaration  that 
such  persons  were  condemned,  and 
that  their  condemnation  was  just. 

9.  What  then  ?  &c.  Put  by  some 
as  another  question  of  the  opponent, 
but  by  Locke  and  Tischendorf  as 
commencing  a  new  paragraph  of  the 
Apostle  afler  the  dialogue  was  con- 
cluded. The  question  reverts  to 
verse  1,  as  to  whether  in  moral  char- 


112 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


Jews  and  Gentiles,  tliat  they  are  all  under  sin ;  as  it  is  written,  lo 
There  is  none  righteous,  no,  not  one :  There  is  none  that  under-  1 1 
standeth,  there  is  none  that  seeketh  after  God.     They  are  all  gone  12 
out   of  the    way,  they  are  together  become  unprofitable  ;    there 
is  none  that  doeth  good,  no,  not  one.     Their  throat  is  an  open  sep-  13 
ulchre ;  with  their  tongues  they  have  used  deceit ;  the  poison  of 
asps  is  under  their  hj)S :  whose  mouth  is  full  of  cursing  and  bit-  m 
terness :  their  feet  are  swift  to  shed  blood :   destruction  and  mis-  \l 
ery  are  in  their  ways  :  and  the  way  of  peace  have  they  not  known :  17 
there  is  no  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes.     Now  we  know^  that  \l 
what  things  soever  the  law  saith,  it  saith  to  them  who  are~under 
the  law  :  that  every  mouth  may  be  stopped,  and  all  the  world  may 
become  guilty  before  God.     Therefore  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  20 


acter,  not  privileges,  the  Jews  had 
any  preeminence  over  the  Gentiles ; 
and  the  answer  was  a  decided  nega- 
tive. What  was  before  proved  is 
now  repeated,  that  both  Jews  and 
Gentiles  were  in  a  depraved,  de- 
graded spuitual  condition,  and  there- 
fore needed  the  Gospel,  one  as  well 
as  the  other.  The  Jew  could  not 
plead  his  righteousness  as  constitut- 
ing any  claim  to  this  blessing  any 
more  than  the  very  Pagan. 

10-18.  To  substantiate  his  position 
beyond  contradiction,  he  quotes  from 
their  sacred  writings  as  applicable  to 
the  Jews  what  they  were  so  ready  to 
apply  to  the  Gentiles,  a  brilliant,  po- 
etic picture  of  the  deep  apostasy  of 
mankind,  in  which  every  faculty  and 
sense  is  singled  out  as  enacting  its 
part  in  the  drama  of  wickedness. 
Throat,  and  tongue,  and  lip,  and  eye, 
and  foot,  with  all  the  internal  powers 
which  act  through  these  instruments, 
have  become  parties  and  agents  in 
the  spiritual  rebellion.  The  whole 
moral  and  physical  man  was  in  insur- 
rection against  the  authority  of  con- 
science and  God.  Still,  such  pas- 
sages are  not  logic,  but  rhetoric,  and 
they  arc  misquoted  and  -^vrested  when 
they  are  employed  to  demonstrate 
that    there   is   no    goodness  in   the 


world,  and  that  man's  best  acts  are  an 
abomination  to  God.  The  quotations 
are  from  the  Septuagint  version  of 
the  Psalms,  in  order  as  follows,  with 
some  freedoms  :  Ps.  xiv.  1  -  3  ;  v.  9  ; 
cxl.  3  ;  X.  7  ;  Is.  lix.  7  ;  Ps.  xxxvi.  1 . 
The  Jews  were  prone  to  apply  these 
severe  condemnations  to  the  Gentiles, 
but  it  was  of  the  Jews  they  were  orig- 
inally written,  and  to  whom  they  are 
now  apphed.  The  argument  of  Paul 
would  possess  a  double  force  when 
expressed  in  words  endeared  by  the 
national  faith. 

19.  The  Laic.  A  comprehensive 
term,  meaning  the  writings  of  the 
whole  Jewish  revelation.  Psalms  and 
Prophets,  as  well  as  the  Pentateuch. 
John  X.  34.  In  the  case  above,  the 
quotations  were  not  from  Moses,  but 
from  David  and  Isaiah.  This  severe 
description  of  the  depravity  of  men 
was  addressed  to  the  Jews,  who  were 
under  the  LaAv ;  and  if  they  could  not 
escape  such  charges  even  with  their 
privileges  and  aids  to  righteousness, 
then,  certainly,  the  whole  world  must 
bow  in  silent  condemnation  before  the 
perfect  purity  and  goodness  of  God, 
and  confess  itself  worthy  of  punish- 
ment. 

20.  The  deeds  of  the  Law,  i.  e.  acts 
of  obedience  to  the  Law,  or  such  deeds 


III.l 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


113 


there  shall  no  flesh  be  justified  in  liis  sight :  for  by  the  law  is  the 

21  knowledge  of  sin.     But  now  the  righteousness  of  God  without  the 
law  is  manifested,  being  witnessed  by  the  law  and  the  prophets ; 

22  even  the  righteousness  of  God  which  is  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ 
unto  all  and  upon  all  them  that  beUeve:  for  there  is  no  differ- 


as  the  Law  requires  or  approves.  In 
the  19th  verse  Law  has  the  article  the 
before  it,  but  here  it  has  not  in  the 
original,  though  the  translators  have 
erroneously  put  it  in.  The  Apostle 
makes  his  proposition  general.  By 
deeds  of  law,  by  legal  obedience,  can 
no  man  be  justified.  The  path  of  our 
acceptance  with  God  does  not  lie  in 
that  direction.  We  are  not  disposed, 
with  many  critics,  to  understand  by 
Law  here  the  ceremonial  law  of 
Moses  in  contrast  with  the  moral 
hiAv,  nor  the  Law  of  Moses,  perhaps, 
at  all,  but  law  universally.  "  No 
flesh "  seems  a  general  expression, 
referring  to  the  whole  human  family. 
The  catalogue  of  sins  enumerated 
above  were  not  violations  of  the 
Mosaic  law  specially,  but  of  all  law. 
And  granting  that  the  proposition 
held  good  of  the  Mosaic  law,  and  re- 
ferred primarily  to  that,  a  fortiori,  by 
so  much  the  stronger  reason,  as  that 
was  the  accredited  and  superior  pro- 
vision of  God,  would  the  same  be  true 
of  every  inferior  and  less  distinct  law 
of  conscience  or  nature.  If  Jewish 
obedience  could  not  justify,  much  less 
could  pagan  obedience.  And  the 
reason  plainly  is,  that  the  obedience 
could  not  be  obedience,  could  not  be 
perfect ;  there  would  be  much  to  for- 
get and  to  forgive,  and  for  that  law, 
as  law,  makes  no  provision.  Neither 
conscience  nor  law  is  a  consoler  or 
forgiver.  The  object  of  both  is  to 
bring  sin  to  light,  to  reveal  the  hid- 
den moral  quality  of  actions,  not  to 
provide  the  main  motive  of  obedience, 
or  to  furnish  the  reparation  when  the 
evil  is  done.  Other  powers  must  do 
that  office.  Both  are  powerful  and 
essential  in  their  province,  but  their 
10* 


province  is  not  universal.  —  Justified. 
The  grand  scope  of  the  Apostle's 
argument  all  through  these  chapters 
is  not  that  narrow  point  to  which  it 
is  generally  referred,  of  justification, 
properly  so  called,  but,  as  elsewhere 
translated,  of  righteousness,  and  God's 
righteousness  ;  that  is,  God's  method 
of  making  men  righteous.  That  was 
the  chief  ami  of  all  revelation,  not 
how  to  account  men,  how  to  justify 
them,  but  how  to  make  them  just, 
how  to  give  them  a  spiritual  rectitude 
and  rig-ht  and  holy  development,  so 
that  they  might  be  proper  subjects  of 
moral  acquittal. 

21,  22.  The  LaAv  was  a  schoolmaster 
to  bring  men  to  Christ ;  good  for  its 
time,  and  place,  and  people  ;  but  the 
fidl  method  of  God's  righteousness, 
i.  e.  his  operation  of  making  men 
righteous,  and  so  of  course  fitting 
them  to  be  justified  and  accepted  by 
him,  was  not,  by  law,  a  mere  declara- 
tion of  duty,  of  things  forbidden  and 
things  required,  but  by  that  method 
to  which  the  Law  and  Prophets  them- 
selves bore  witness,  as  superior  to 
themselves,  and  that  method  was  by 
faith,  a  spiritual  principle,  faith  in 
Christ,  a  moral  motive,  taking  pro- 
found hold  of  the  heart,  and  not  a 
simple  legal  motive,  appealing  to  the 
conscience.  In  all  this  course  of  re- 
mark the  Apostle  shows  liimseLf  as 
good  a  philosopher  of  human  nature 
as  he  is  theologian  of  the  Gospel.  — 
Unfa  all  and  upon  all,  &c.  The  invi- 
tation to  this  faith  of  Christ,  the  spir- 
itual lever  to  raise  the  world,  was  as 
broad  and  generous  as  humanity. 
There  was  no  restriction  to  Jews,  no 
favoritism,  no  chosen  nation,  —  wel- 
come the  world  to  the  world's  Saviour, 


114 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


fCi 


ence ;  for  all  have  sinned,  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God ;  23 
bemg  justified  freely  by  his  grace  through  the  redemj^tion  that  is  24 
in  Christ  Jesus ;  whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  he  a  propitiation  25 
through  faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare  his  righteousness  for  the  remis- 
sion of  sins  that  are  past,  through  the  forbearance  of  God ;  to  de-  26 


to  God's  righteousness,  to  the  soul's 
life,  and  to  heaven's  reward. 

23,  24.  All  have  sinned.    The  Gen- 
tile  had  not  kept  the   law  of  con- 
S  science  and  light  of  nature,  the  Jew 

had  not  fulfilled  the  Law  of  Moses,  — 
all  alike  had  come  short  of  the  glori- 
ous distinction  of  being  righteous,  the 
honor  God  gives  to  the  faithful.  Here 
Locke  distinctly  recognizes  the  prin- 
ciple we  have  laid  down,  though  he 
does  not  elsewhere  so  clearly  follow 
it,  and  he  renders  the  24th  verse, 
"  being  made  righteous  gratis  by  the 
fivor  of  God,  through  the  redemp- 
tion which  is  by  Christ  Jesus."  The 
grace  of  God  is  his  favor,  free,  un- 
bought,  flowing  from  the  fountain  of 
his  pure  love,  and  the  eminent  in- 
stance of  that  grace  is  the  gift  of 
Christ,  and  his  mode  of  making  men 
righteous  by  him.  Here  are  the  Gen- 
tile law  of  conscience  and  light  of 
nature  and  the  Jewish  Law  of  Moses 
fulfilled  in  a  higher  law  of  faith,  a 
spiritual  principle,  involving  trust, 
love,  hope,  and  centring  in  Christ, 
as  the  majestic  and  spotless  ideal  of 
humanity,  the  being  Avho  showed  us 
hoAv  God  would  hve  on  the  earth,  if 
God  were  man. 

25,  26.  Propitiation,  rather  a  pro- 
pitiatory or  mercy-seat,  in  reference 
to  the  mercy-seat  in  the  Jewish  tem- 
ple, which  was  the  golden  lid  of  the 
ark,  over  which  the'cheinibim  bowed, 
and  on  which  the  Shekinah,  or  cloud 
of  the  Divine  glory,  rested ;  the  place 
of  the  holy  presence  Avhere  God  ap- 
peared and  spoke  his  will.  Ex.  xxv. 
17-22;  Lev.  xvi.  14-17;  Heb.  ix. 
4,^  5.  Once  a  year  it  was  sprinkled 
with  blfJod.    Christ  was  now  the  mer- 


cy-seat, sprinkled  with  his  o^ti  blood, 
the  bright  and  holy  place  of  the  Di- 
vine presence  and  glory  shining  in 
his  face ;  liim  over  whom  angels  bowed 
and  sung  their  song  of  jubilee,  and 
through  whom  God  appeared  and 
spoke  his  will.  Christ  is  "  the  altar 
form  of  the  divine," — we  accept  the 
term  of  a  late  divine.  Dr.  Bushnell,  — 
but  then  it  is  in  a  free  spiritual  sense, 
in  no  narrow^  legal,  technical  import. 
This  Jewish  figure  would  have  no 
speaking  significance  except  to  the 
Jews,  and  cannot  have  been  meant 
for  universal  impression,  because  the 
rest  of  the  world  lack  the  prehmina- 
ry  facts  on  which  that  figure  is  pred- 
icated, viz.  the  temple,  mercy-seat, 
sacrifices,  &c.  of  that  ancient  people. 
Still,  the  scion  of  divine  truth  being 
once  well  set  in  the  old  stock  of  Ju- 
daism, it  throve  apace,  and  now  the 
world  subsists  its  spiritual  life  on 
Christ,  not  because  he  is  a  mercy-seat, 
but  because  it  eats  the  bread  God  has 
prepared,  and  its  tormenting  hunger 
is  satisfied,  and  strength  and  growth 
have  come  apace. — Faith  in  his  Mood. 
The  cleansing  power  of  Christ  is  of 
course  in  no  hteral  sense  in  his  blood, 
but  in  the  great  love  and  self-sacrifice 
that  led  him  to  do  and  suffer  so  much 
for  man's  disenthralment  from  sin. 
The  noxious  emphasis  put  upon  the 
physical  sufferings,  as  if  they  were  a 
payment  of  our  debts,  an  endurance 
of  what  we  should  otherwise  have 
suffered,  but  what  we  shall  not  suff"er 
now,  has  often  blinded  men  to  that 
glorious  sacrifice  of  the  spirit,  that 
bowing  of  the  most  noble  nature  that 
was  ever  on  the  earth  to  shame  and 
loss  and  agony,  for  our  sakes.     Juda- 


nil 


TO  THE  ROMANS. 


115 


clare,  I  say,  at  tliis  time  liis  righteousness :  that  he  might  be  just, 

27  and  the  justifier  of  him  which  beheveth  in  Jesus.     Where  is  boast- 
ing then  ?     It  is  excluded.     Bj  what  law  ?  of  works  ?     Nay,  but 

28  by  the  law  of  faith.     Therefore  we  conclude  that  a  man  is  justified 


ism  was  legal,  but,  really,  Christianity, 
as  many  preach  it,  is  made  more  le- 
gal than  Judaism.  Its  cords  are  not 
cords  of  love,  but  of  steel.  Its  spirit 
is  made,  not  a  spirit  of  salvation,  but 
of  condemnation.  The  moutli  of  its 
teachers  is  opened,  not  with  promises, 
but  with  threatenings.  Its  character 
of  Gospel,  or  of  good  news,  is  made 
to  consist  in  its  declaration  of  safety 
to  a  mere  fragment,  an  infinitesimal 
of  the  human  family,  and  its  consign- 
ment of  the  vast  majority  of  conscious 
and  immortal  spirits  to  everlasting 
woe.  Tiiohick  justly  remarks,  that 
"  blood  stands  for  bloody  death,  the 
acme  of  his  holy  and  love-devoted 
hfe."  —  The  25th  verse  is  somewhat 
obscure  in  its  connection  of  clauses 
and  their  dependence  on  and  rela- 
tion to  one  another,  but  the  follow- 
ino;  ideas  will  be  found  in  it,  thouirh 
a  diversity  of  judgment  exists  among 
the  critics  as  to  the  meaning  of  the 
particles.  1.  Jesus  Christ  is  set  forth 
as  the  mercy-seat-,  the  manifestation 
of  the  presence  and  love  of  God. 
2.  Faith  in  Christ,  and  especially  in  his 
blood  or  cross,  the  crowning  act  and 
embodiment  of  his  spirit  and  life,  is 
the  means  by  which  that  benefit  is 
appropriated.  3.  Notwithstanding  the 
Jews  and  Gentiles  had  sinned,  God 
passed  by  or  overlooked  those  sins  in 
his  forbearance,  and  still  declared  his 
righteousness,  i.  e.  his  method  of  mak- 
ing men  righteous.  Acts  xvii.  30. 
In  verse  2Gth,  the  Apostle  resumes 
the  idea  of  God's  declaring  or  setting 
forth  this  method  of  making  men 
right,  and  thus  at  the  same  time, 
1st,  showing  his  own  righteousness, 
or  that  he  himself  was  just,  and  also, 
2d,  making  righteous  or  just,  and  of 
course  accounting  liim  so,  whoever 


appropriated  the  benefit  to  himself  by 
faith.  —  In  Jesus.  Tisehendorf  re- 
jects these  words,  as  not  belonging  to 
the  true  text.  By  the  fatal  misU\ke 
of  confounding  illustrations  with  ar- 
guments, the  above  passage  respect- 
ing Christ,  as  the  mercy-seat  of  God, 
has  been  employed  to  uphold  the 
theory  of  vicarious  atonement.  But 
the  Apostle  uses  that  fact  to  exjilain 
his  subject,  not  to  establish  a  rigid 
analogy  between  the  tAvo,  —  between 
the  use  of  the  mercy-seat  in  Judaism 
and  the  office  of  Jesus  in  the  Gospel. 
27,  28.  All  ground  of  glorying, 
whether  of  the  Jews  in  the  jjunctil- 
ious  observance  of  their  Law,  or  of  the 
Gentiles  in  their  philosophy  and  light 
of  nature,  is  therefore  excluded.  The 
lower  system  of  law  in  both  cases  is 
superseded  by  the  higher  system  of 
faith.  The  Divine  method  of  making 
good  men,  and  accepting  and  account- 
ing them  such,  is  henceforth  a  system 
of  faith,  a  spiritual  principle,  working 
by  love,  Avorking  on  the  whole  nature 
of  man,  and  transforming  him  into 
the  image  of  Christ.  The  wise  man 
said  :  "  To  depart  from  Avickedness  is 
a  thing  pleasing  to  the  Lord  :  and  to 
forsake  unrighteousness  is  a  propitia- 
tion." Ecclus.  xxxv.  3.  Jesus  is  the 
projiitiatory,  as  he^is  called  in  ver.  25, 
or  the  propitiation,  as  he  is  also 
temied,  1  John  ii.  2  ;  not  because  he 
is  either  literally,  —  and  it  is  evident 
he  could  not  be  both  at  the  same 
time,  except  in  a  figure, —  but  be- 
cause the  moral  and  divine  influence 
he  wields  over  the  human  heart  is 
such  that  he  disposes,  draws  men  to 
accomplish  that  good  work  of  faith, 
obedience,  and  the  forsaking  of  all 
unrighteousness,  which  is  a  true  pro- 
pitiation.   The  error  which  the  Apos- 


116 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


bj  faith  without  the  deeds  of  the  law.     Is  he  the  God  of  the  Jews  29 
only  ?  is  he  not  also  of  the  Gentiles  ?     Yes,  of  the  Gentiles  also : 
seeing  it  is  one  God,  which  shall  justify  the  circumcision  by  faith,  30 
and  uncircumcision  through  faith.     Do  w^e  then  make  void  the  law  31 
through  faith  ?     God  forbid  :  yea,  Ave  estabhsh  the  law. 

CHAPTER    IV. 

The  Promise  confirmed  to  Abraham^  on  the  Ground^  not  of  the  Righteousness  of  the  Law, 
hut  the  Righteousness  cf  Faith. 

What  shall  we  say  then  that  Abraham,  our  father,  as  pertaining  to 


tie  was  combating  with  so  much  force 
was  not  that  a  pure  and  holy  hfe  was 
of  little  or  no  account  with  God,  but 
that,  in  order  to  produce  such  a  life, 
a  system  of  faith,  a  system  adapted  to 
the  heart  and  hope  and  love  of  man, 
and  not  merely  a  legal  technical  sys- 
tem, ajDpealing  chietly  to  the  con- 
science, was  needed,  and  was  provided 
in  Christianity.  It  was  not  because 
they  were  Jews,  but  because  they 
were  men,  that  the  converts  of  Paul 
could  hope  for  the  benefits  of  the  new 
system.  It  was  not  by  the  care  and 
diligence  they  took  in  observing  law, 
but  the  faith  they  reposed  in  Christ, 
which  would  enable  them  to  make 
rapid  advancement  in  Christianity. 
The  great  work  they  first  had  to  do 
was  the  work  of  faith,  and  the  chief 
law  they  were  to  observe  was  the  law 
of  faith,  for  faith  is  a  work  and  is  a 
law. 

29,  30.  The  sum  of  these  verses  is 
simply,  that  God  i»  the  God  of  the 
whole  family  of  mankind,  and  not  of 
one  branch  of  it  only,  and  that  he  is 
just  as  ready  to  accept  to  the  system, 
whose  privileges  are  secured  by  faith, 
the  Gentile  as  the  Jew,  or,  to  use  the 
abstract  terms,  the  uncircumcision 
as  the  circumcision.  By  faith  and 
through  faith  mean  the  same. 

31.  The  conclusion  is,  that  the 
Jews,  so  far  from  objecting  to  this 
view,  should  accept  it  as  "the  real 
method  of  fulfillins  and  estabhshinii 


the  Law.  For  the  Law  was  not  final 
and  perfect,  but  introductory  and 
prospective.  Jesus  came,  as  he  said, 
not  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil  it.  Matt. 
V.  17.  He,  therefore,  who  demon- 
strated the  end  at  which  the  Law 
itself  aimed,  was  the  friend,  and  not 
the  enemy  of  the  Law.  Paul,  there- 
fore, instead  of  being  an  iconoclast 
of  what  his  nation  most  reverence, 
proves  himself  to  be  still  a  Hebrew 
of  the  Hebrews,  by  leading  them  on 
from  law  to  faith,  from  Moses  to 
Christ,  from  the  rudimental  begin- 
ning to  the  glorious  consummation 
and  capital  of  the  Divine  dispensa- 
tions. 

CHAPTER  lY. 

As  the  Apostle  was  writing  to  Jews 
principally,  —  and  though  in  name  an 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  this  is  really 
an  Epistle  to  the  llebrews, — he  cites 
in  this  stage  of  his  argument  the  emi- 
nent instance  of  Abraham.  At  first 
sight  it  Avould  appear  to  be  one  not 
applicable,  or,  if  applicable,  not  favor- 
able to  his  cause.  But  under  his  dis- 
criminating zeal  it  becomes  a  power- 
ful weapon  of  defence,  and  carries 
conviction  to  one  taking  a  Jewish 
point  of  departure.  '' 

1.  This  verse,  hke  the  beginning 
of  chap,  iii.,  contains  the  question  of 
a  Jewish  opponent.  He  there  took 
up  the  general  case  of  the  chosen 
people,  but  here  the  particular  case 


IV.] 


TO    THE   ROMANS. 


117 


2  the  flesh  hath  found  ?     For  if  Abraham  were  justified  by  works,  he 

3  hath  whereof  to  glory ;  but  not  before  God.     For  what  saith  the 


of  the  patriarch  Abraham.  Owing 
to  a  mistranslation,  the  precise  point 
of  the  question  is  lost.  It  is  not 
what  Abraham  hath  found,  but  what 
he  hath  found  or  obtained  as  it  re- 
spects the  flesh,  i.  e.  circumcision. 
A  better  rendering  would  be  :  What 
shall  we  say,  then,  that  Abraham,  our 
father,  hath  obtained  as  it  respects 
the  flesli. 

2,  3.  The  Apostle  replies.  But 
the  particle  for  implies  that  some- 
thing Avas  understood,  as  much  as  to 
say,  There  is  no  ground  for  boasting, 
"  for  if  Abraham  were  justified  by 
works,  he  hath  whereof  to  boast,  but 
not  as  it  respects  God."  As  uniform- 
ity of  rendering  is  very  desirable,  the 
term  which,  in  chap.  iii.  27,  is  trans- 
lated "  boasting,"  should  be  so  given 
here,  instead  of  "  glory."  In  the  last 
clause  the  Apostle  denies  the  prop- 
osition so  far  as  God,  the  standard, 
is  concerned ;  though,  so  far  as  man 
was  concerned,  Abraham  might  be 
thought  to  have  ground  of  boasting. 
The  Apostle  would  show  that  their 
much-honored  ancestor  was  himself 
originally  in  the  precise  category  of 
the  Gentiles  now ;  and  that  he  was 
admitted  to  the  distinguished  privi- 
leges of  a  divine  revelation  on  the 
basis  of  faith,  and  not  on  works  or 
olaedience  to  laAv,  except  by  the  law 
and  work  of  faith,  the  very  process 
through  which  both  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles were  received  to  the  Christian 
fellowship.  Of  course  nothing  that 
any  mortal  could  do  would  merit 
from  God  any,  even  the  least,  of  his 
favors,  whether  temporal  or  spiritual. 
All  is  of  pure  love  and  grace,  in  this 
life  and  in  the  life  to  come.  When 
we  speak  of  being  saved  by  our  own 
merits,  if  any  do,  we  use  words  of 
foolishness.  We  are  saved,  if  saved 
at  all,  by  the  free,  unpurchased  mercy 
of  God.     But  then  this  very  mercy 


has  established  certain  conditions 
which  must  be  fulfilled  on  our  part. 
The  first  of  these  is  faith,  the  second 
obedience.  They  are  not  the  cause, 
but  the  condition,  of  salvation.  They 
were  so  in  the  case  of  Abraham,  of 
the  Jews,  and  of  the  Gentiles.  One 
law  reigns  over  all.  In  beating  down, 
therefore,  the  exclusive  pretensions 
of  the  Jews,  Paul  does  not  disparage 
Avorks  in  their  place  and  for  their 
proper  use,  —  his  Epistles  are  eloquent 
vindications  of  good  works,  —  but  he 
w^ould  elevate  the  spirit  of  religion 
above  its  letter,  moral  principle  over 
legal  conformity,  and  the  exercise  of 
the  religious  aflections  and  aspira- 
tions over  the  mere  activity  of  con- 
science in  yielding  submission  to  a 
law.  Truly  speaking,  faith  itself  is  a 
Avork,  and  the  great  Avork  ;  for  Avhen 
it  is  accomplished,  in  spirit  and  in 
truth,  all  other  Avorks  folloAV  as  nat- 
urally as  the  day  the  night.  Mark 
the  Avords  of  Jesus,  John  vi.  29, 
"  This  is  the  work  of  God,  that  ye 
beheve  on  him  Avhom  he  hath  sent." 
If  the  question  be  whether  justifica- 
tion —  i.  e.  to  be  put  in  the  AA\ay  of 
being,  and  of  being  accounted,  just 
or  righteous,  and  so  ultimately  of 
salvation  —  be  meritorious  or  gratui- 
tous, the  ansAver  must  be,  gratuitous. 
But  if  the  question  be  —  and  here 
is  the  real  hinge  betAveen  the  Cal- 
A'inist  and  the  Arminian — AAdiether 
it  be  conditional  or  unconditional,  w^e 
decide  at  once  that  it  is  conditional. 
Abraham  fulfiUed  that  condition;^ 
Avhich  Avas  faith.  That  AA'as  his  duty 
and  his  Avork,  and  he  did  it;  and 
obeying  that  law  of  faith,  it  Avas 
counted  to  him  for  righteousness,  for 
the  simple  and  sufficient  reason  that 
it  xca^  righteousness.  The  only  true 
God  AA'ould  only  count  as  righteous- 
ness Avhat  Avas  so  in  reality,  not  pro- 
ceeding upon  those  subterfuges  and 


118 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


Scripture  ?     Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  was  counted  unto  him 
for  righteousness.     Now  to  him  that  worketh  is  the  reward  not  4 
reckoned  of  grace,  but  of  debt.     But  to  him  that  worketh  not,  but  5 
beheveth  on  him  that  justifieth  the  ungodly,  his  faith  is  counted  for 
righteousness.     Even  as  David  also  describeth  the  blessedness  of  e 
the  man,  unto  whom  God  imputeth  righteousness  without  works, 
Saying,  Blessed  are  they  whose  iniquities  are  forgiven,  and  whose  7 


make-believes  in  which  men  entangle 
and  sophisticate  themselves.  Faith 
is  the  Hving  germ  of  all  righteous- 
ness, out  of  which  all  the  graces  and 
virtues  bloom  and  bear  fruit.  —  The 
Scripture.     Gen.  xv.  6. 

4,  5.  Abraham's  case  is  here  gen- 
eralized into  a  universal  proposition. 
God  accepts  no  man  because  he  is 
perfectly  righteous,  because  no  man 
is  so ;  but  he  justifies  and  puts  in  the 
way  of  righteousness  and  perfect 
goodness  him  who  is  endued  with 
this  vital  germ  of  faith.  These  are 
no  arbitrary  and  artificial  relations  of 
the  parties,  but  natural,  original,  and 
fundamental.  Peter  declared  it  when 
he  said,  "  Of  a  truth  I  perceive  that 
God  is  no  respecter  of  persons ;  but 
in  every  nation  he  that  feareth  him 
and  worketh  righteousness  is  accepted 
with  him."  And  he  who  has  faith, 
which  is  faith,  possesses  the  possi- 
bilities and  probabilities  of  all  right- 
eousness, however  he  may  err,  or 
even  commit  black  and  heinous  sins, 
as  did  Abraham,  David,  and  Peter. 
What  is  all  human  virtue  by  the  side 
of  Christ,  and  before  the  glory  of 
God,  but  a  marred  and  stained  work  ? 
Saints  are  called  saints  by  courtesy, 
and  in  a  figure  of  speech ;  but  "  there 
is  none  good  but  One,  that  is, 
God."  Tf  the  religious  privileges  ac- 
corded to  Abraham  and  to  the  Jews 
had  been  given  because  they  had  ful- 
filled the  whole  duty  of  man,  it  might 
have  been  reckoned  as  the  payment 
of  a  debt,  and  not  the  granting  of  a 
favor.  But  they  could  plead  no 
claim  on  the  score  of  merit.     Their 


only  and  sufficient  fitness  for  the 
blessing  was  that  they  believed  in 
God  earnestly  and  sincerely,  and  that 
trust,  being  the  elementary  principle 
and  representative  of  all  the  noble 
results  which  would  follow,  procured, 
not  as  cause,  but  as  condition,  for 
very  imperfect  and  even  sinful  men, 
by  anticipation,  the  promises  of  God. 
It  may  interest  English  readers  to 
knoAv  that  counted  in  the  3d  verse 
and  5th,  reckoned  in  the  4th,  and  im- 
puteth in  the  6th,  are  the  same  word 
in  the  original.  Uniformity  of  ren- 
dering would  be  a  decided  improve- 
ment in  our  present  version. 

6-8.  To  substantiate  his  argumen- 
tum  ad  ho7ninem,  his  special  appeal  to 
the  Jews,  he  adds  the  other  greatest 
name  of  Hebrew  history,  David. 
Ps.  xxxii.  1,  2.  The  Psahnist  is  un- 
derstood to  refer  to  himself.  Here 
also  the  vital  point  is  expressed  in 
the  last  clause  of  Ps.  xxxii.  2,  "  and 
in  whose  spirit  there  is  no  guile." 
Though  he  had  deeply  sinned,  yet, 
owing  to  this  faith  in  God,  he  did  not 
give  up  in  despair,  but  still  prayed  for 
pardon,  still  rose  and  struggled  on,  and 
fought  the  good  fight  of  faith.  Such  a 
man  is  blest,  not  because  he  is  perfect, 
not  because  he  is  not  very  sinful,  but 
because  he  has  a  working  faith,  a 
guileless,  honest  purpose  ;  and  though 
overtaken  by  temptation,  he  ralHes 
a<2;ain  and  ao;ain,  "  never  says  die," 
to  use  a  common  saymg,  but  "  be- 
lieveth  all  things,  hopeth  all  things." 
But  if  we  were  to  take  the  passage 
to  prove,  what  some  seem  anxious  to 
use  it  for,  that  God  treats  men  with- 


iv.i 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


119 


8  sins  are  covered.     Blessed  is  tlie  man  to  whom  the  Lord  will  not 

9  impute  sin.  Cometh  this  blessedness  then  upon  the  circumcision 
ojily,  or  upon  the  uncircumcision  also  ?  for  we  say  that  faith  was 

10  reckoned  to  Abraham  for  righteousness.  How  was  it  then  reck- 
oned ?  when  he  was  in  circumcision,  or  m  uncii'cumcision  ?   Not  in 

11  circumcision,  but  in  uncircumcision.  Ajid  he  received  the  sign  of 
circumcision,  a  seal  of  the  righteousness  of  the  faith  which  he  had 
yet  being  uncircumcised :  that  he  might  be  the  father  of  all  them 
that  believe,  though  they  be  not  circumcised ;  that  righteousness 

12  might  be  imj)uted  unto  them  also :  and  the  father  of  circumcision 
to  them  who  are  not  of  the  circumcision  only,  but  who  also  walk  in 
the  steps  of  that  faith  of  our  father  Abraham  which  he  had  being 

13  yet  uncircumcised.     For  the  promise,  that  he  should  be  the  heir  of 


out  any  regard  to  their  good  or  ill 
moral  desert,  gives  and  withholds  his 
blessings  capriciously,  forgives  one 
gratuitously,  and  sends  another  to  an 
eternal  hell,  we  should  feel  that  this 
was  wresting  the  Scripture  to  man's 
destruction  and  God's  dishonor.  Abra- 
ham had  faith,  and  so  had  David  and 
Paul ;  and  though  one  was  a  liar  and 
a  bigamist,  and  another  an  adulterer 
and  murderer,  and  another  a  perse- 
cutor and  bigot,  yet  that  faith,  buried 
as  it  sometimes  seemed  to  be  and 
overwhelmed  under  the  desolations 
of  terrible  passions  and  temptations, 
was  the  spark  of  spiritual  Hfe,  that 
never  went  out,  but  burned  on,  and 
burned  oiF  in  the  end  all  impuri- 
ties. 

9-12.  Paul  resumes  and  pursues 
'the  argument  from  Abraham,  and 
turns  the  example  and  name,  which 
the  Jews  were  most  ready  to  quote 
to  justify  their  excluslveness,  into  a 
potent  precedent  against  them.  The 
faith  of  Abraham,  which  was  right- 
eousness, preceded,  not  followed,  cir- 
cumcision, and  he  took  that  seal,  not 
as  title  to  future  privileges,  but  a 
sign  of  pri\'ileges  granted  already.  It 
was  the  seal  of  possession,  not  of 
])romise.  Gen.  xv.  6;  xvii.  24,  25. 
Abraham  was  ninety-nine,  and   his 


son  Isaac  thirteen  years  old,  when 
the  rite  was  performed,  while  his 
righteous  faith  had  a  much  earlier 
date.  Hence,  ver.  11  and  12,  two 
consequences  very  significant  fol- 
lowed ;  the  first,  that  Abraham  is  the 
father  of  them  who  trust  in  God, 
though  not  sealed  with  the  peculiar 
Jewish  ceremony,  and  to  whom  that 
trust  is  accounted  incipient  and  pro- 
spective righteousness ;  and  then, 
again,  that  he  is  not  the  father  of  the 
circumcision,  as  such,  but  to  them 
only  of  the  circumcision  who  walk  in 
his  steps  of  faith,  faith  wliich  he  ex- 
ercised before  he  was  himself  cir- 
cumcised; one  consequence  an  en- 
couraging one  to  the  Gentiles,  who 
had  faith,  though  they  had  not  cir- 
cumcision ;  the  other  an  alarming 
one  to  the  Jews,  who  had  the  circum- 
cision, but  had  not  faith. 

10,  11.  How  was  it  then  reckoned? 
i.  e.  under  what  circumstances.  Light- 
foot  shows  from  the  Talmud,  that  the 
Jews  gave  this  very  term  of  a  seal  or 
sign  to  the  rite  of  circumcision. 

13.  The  strong  and  beautiful  de- 
velopment of  the  Apostle's  historical 
argument  proceeds  to  a  new  point. 
The  Jews  had  three  strong-holds,  as 
they  thought,  for  their  pociiMir  na- 
tional distinction, impri'gnabk*  against 


120 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


tlie  world,  2vas  not  to  Abraham,  or  to  liis  seed,  tlu^ough  the  law,  but 
through  the  righteousness  of  faith.     For  if  they  wliicli  are  of  the  u 
law  be  heirs,  faith  is  made  void,  and  the  promise  made  of  none 
effect:   because  the  law  worketh  wrath:   for  where  no  law  is,  there  is 
is  no  transgression.     Therefore  it  is  of  faith,  that  it  might  he  by  le 
grace ;  to  the  end  the  promise  might  be  sure  to  all  the  seed ;  not 
to  that  only  which  is  of  the  law,  but  to  that  also  which  is  of  the 


the  Gentile  claim  to  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  the  Gospel,  unless  they 
first  submitted  to  the  Jewish  ritual. 
These  were  Scripture,  circumcision, 
and  Law.  The  first  the  Apostle  had 
disposed  of  in  ver.  2-8  by  refer- 
ence both  to  Abraham  and  David. 
The  second,  circumcision,  had  been 
despatched  in  ver.  9-12.  The 
third,  Law,  so  far  as  it  related  to 
Abraham,  he  enters  upon  now.  AVith- 
out  the  formahty  of  heads  and  topics, 
the  reasonings  of  Paul  wiU  always  be 
found  to  have  a  method.  —  For  the 
promise^  &c.  The  remarkable  fact  is 
cited,  that  the  promise  to  Abraham, 
on  wliich  the  Jews  phmied  theinselves 
so  highly,  was  not  given  to  Abraham 
when  he  was  under  the  Law  system, 
but  under  the  faith  system  ;  and  the 
Apostle  would  infer,  therefore,  that  it 
was  not  restricted  to  his  seed  under 
the  Law  merely,  but  extends  to  his 
seed  under  faith,  and  was  equally 
open  to  Jew  and  Gentile,  provided 
they  fulfilled  the  condition  he  did,  of 
believing.  So  far  from  being  a  sub- 
ject of  the  Law,  Abraham  lived  in  the 
enjoyment  of  the  distinguished  bless- 
ings and  promises  granted  to  his  faith 
more  than  four  hundred  years  before 
the  Law  was  given.  —  Heir  of  the 
tcorld.  Gen.  xv.  5,  xvii.  5,  are  re- 
ferred to,  not  literally,  but  freely. 

14.  If  to  be  under  the  Law,  as  the 
Jews  now  claim,  is  requisite  to  this 
heirship,  then  the  promise  to  Abra- 
ham and  his  posterity  is  rendered 
null,  for  he  was  under  faith,  and 
not  under  the  Law.  He  thus  con- 
vinces the  Jews  that,  if  thev  made 


their  privileges  depend  on  Law,  and 
not  on  faith,  they  overturned  their 
own  system.  To  maintain  faith  was 
as  necessary  for  them  as  for  the  Gen- 
tiles. 

15.  The  nature  of  law  is  rigid.  It 
is  more  a  terror  to  evil-doers  than  a 
praise  to  them  that  do  well.  Its  oflice 
is  not  consolation,  but  condemnation. 
Its  spirit  is  rebuke  of  evil,  indigna- 
tion at  wrong ;  it  "  worketh  wrath," 
displeasure.  It  reveals  what  trans- 
gression is,  but  it  cannot  of  itself 
give  the  power  of  obedience  and  per- 
formance ;  for  that  power  we  must 
look  to  higher  principles  and  motives. 
Chap.  vii.  7-13. 

16.  Instead  of  shaking,  as  he  might 
seem  to  do,  the  structure  of  Judaism, 
by  this  train  of  argument,  he  put  it 
upon  a  firmer  foundation.  He  re- 
moved it  from  the  uncertain  ground 
of  obedience,  capiicious  and  varying 
in  each  individual  example,  and  es- 
tablished it  upon  the  broad  and  eter- 
nal basis  of  the  free  grace  and  mercy 
of  God.  He  made  it  sure  to  the 
branch  of  the  law,  and  also  to  the, 
branch  of  faith.  McKnight  remarks, 
that  "  in  this  passage,  by  the  most 
just  reasoning,  the  Apostle  hath  over- 
thrown the  narrow  notion  of  bigots, 
who  confine  the  mercy  of  God  Avithin 
the  pale  of  this  or  that  church,  and 
by  a  noble  hberality  of  sentiment  he 
hath  declared  that  all  who  imitate 
that  faith  and  piety  which  Abraham 
exercised,  while  uncircumcised,  shall, 
like  him,  obtain  the  inheritance 
through  the  free  mercy  of  God  by 
Jesus  Christ." 


IV.] 


TO  THE  ROMANS. 


121 


17  faith  of  Abraham  ;  who  is  the  father  of  us  all,  (as  it  is  written,  I 
have  made  thee  a  father  of  many  nations,)  before  him  whom 
he  beheved,  even  God,  who  quickeneth  the  dead,  and  calleth  those 

18  things  which  be  not  as  though  they  were :  who  against  hope  be- 
lieved in  hope,  that  he  might  become  the  father  of  many  nations, 

19  according  to  that  which  was  spoken,  So  shall  thy  seed  be.  And 
being  not  weak  in  faith,  he  considered  not  his  own  body  now  dead, 
when  he  was  about  a  hundred  years  old,  neither  yet  the  deadness 

20  of  Sarah's  womb  :  he  staggered  not  at  the  promise  of  God  through 

21  unbehef;  but  was  strong  in  faith,  giving  glory  to  God;  and  being 
fully  persuaded,  that  what  he  had  promised,  he  was  able  also  to  per- 

22  form.     And  therefore  it  was  imputed  to  him  for  righteousness. 

23  Now  it  was  not  written  for  his  sake  alone,  that  it  was  imputed  to 

24  him ;  but  for  us  also,  to  whom  it  shall  be  imputed,  if  we  beheve  on 

25  him  that  raised  up  Jesus  our  Lord  from  the  dead ;  who  was  dehv- 
ered  for  our  offences,  and  was  raised  again  for  our  justification. 


17.  As  it  is  written.  Gen.  xvii.  5, 
quoted  from  the  Septua^nt  version.  — 
Before  Mm,  i.  e.  God ;  in  his  sight,  or 
in  his  account.  —  Quickeneth  the  dead, 
i.  e.  Abraham  and  Sarah,  who  were 
as  good  as  dead.  —  Calleth  those  things, 
&c.  He  foresaw  the  natural  and 
spiritual  creation  which  would  grow 
out  of  this  stock  of  Abraham,  as  if  it 
were  already  in  existence. 

18  -  22.  He  proceeds  to  enumerate 
the  circumstances  which  made  his 
faith  so  difficult  and  so  praiseworthy. 
He  considers  not  himself  nor  his  wife, 
but  saw  in  the  power  of  the  Almighty 
means  to  overcome  every  natural  ob- 
stacle. Being  firm  in  this  filial  trust 
in  God,  and  confident  that  his  power 
was  equal  to  his  promise,  he  had  no 
doubts  or  fears.  In  this  sublime  re- 
hance  on  the  Being  of  Beings,  Abra- 
ham had  taken  the  first  step  of  all 
righteousness,  and  hence  it  was  so 
accounted  to  him.  It  was  a  nominal 
admission  of  a  preexisting  fact;  it 
was  a  declaration  of  what  was  already 
true.  His  faith  was  counted  to  him 
for    righteousness,    because    it    icas 

11 


righteousness,  —  not  a  manifestation, 
but  a  spirit,  not  in  motion,  but  in  be- 
ing, —  righteousness  that  was  prelim- 
inary, hopeful,  antecedent,  causative 
of  more  and  more  of  its  own  nature. 
In  ver.  19,  now  is  expunged  from  the 
text  by  Tischendorf  as  spurious ;  also 
in  ver.  21. 

23-25.  And  he  then  apphes  this 
illustrious  and  venerated  example  of 
the  father  of  the  nation  to  the  case  in 
point.  If  they  would  be  children  of 
Abraham,  as  "they  boasted  of  being, 
they  must  vindicate  their  right  to 
that  title  by  showing  the  same  spirit 
in  their  altered  circumstances  which 
the  patriarch  exhibited  in  his  day. 
For  to  follow  an  example  is  not  to 
foUow  its  letter,  but  its  spirit ;  not  to 
do  precisely  the  acts  which  the  ex- 
emplar did,  but  to  act  as  he  would 
do  if  he  were  placed  in  our  circum- 
stances. Honorable  mention  was 
made  of  the  faith  of  Abraham,  not  to 
glorify  his  name  alone,  but  to  kindle 
a  like  flame  of  holy  love  and  trust  in 
the  bosom  of  every  child  of  God,  Jew 
or  Gentile,  and  especially  to  direct  it 


122 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  Effects  of  the  Righteousness  of  Faith  on  the  Character,  and  its  Results  in  the  World, 
by  establishing  a  new  Spiritual  Human  Race  with  Christ  at  the  Head,  corresponding  to 
the  Natural  Human  Race  with  Adam  at  the  Head. 

Therefore  being  justified  by  faith,  we  have   peace  with  God 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Chiist :  bj  whom  also  we  have  access  by  2 
faith  into  this  grace  wherein  we  stand,  and  rejoice  in  hope  of  the 
glory  of  God.     And  not  only  so,  but  we  glory  in  tribulations  also  ;  3 
knowing  that  tribulation  Avorketh  patience ;  and  patience,  experi-  4 
ence ;  and  experience,  hope  :  and  hope  maketh  not  ashamed ;  be-  5 


to  that  new  and  glorious  object  of 
faith  presented  in  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord,  to  whom  was  set  the  seal  of 
truth  that  he  was  raised  from  the 
dead.  Delivered  should  be  translated 
delivered  up.  Our  offences  were  the 
cause  of  his  sufferings,  but  he  did  not 
suffer  to  appease  the  anger  of  God, 
or  to  take  the  place  of  the  punish- 
ment which  men  would  otherwise 
have  endured  as  a  penalty  for  their 
transgressions.  His  death  was  to 
have  a  moral,  not  a  diplomatic  effect, 
and  to  change  not  the  divine  decrees, 
but  the  human  heart  and  will.  His 
resurrection  was  the  attesting  of  the 
fulfilment  of  that  system  of  Christian- 
ity in  which  all  men,  according  to 
their  faith  or  self-approbation  of  the 
benefits  of  the  dispensation,  would  be 
put  in  a  way  of  justification,  i.  e.  re- 
ligious privileges  leading  on  to  the 
righteousness  of  character  and  fife 
from  the  elementary  righteousness  of 
faith,  and  perfecting  all  in  a  spirit 
moulded,  colored,  and  inspired  after 
the  pattern  of  the  divine  in  Jesus. 

CHAPTER  y. 

1,  2.  Having  shown  what  the  na- 
ture of  this  faith  in  Christ  was,  and 
hoAv  the  elder  cHspensation  justified 
it,  the  Apostle  proceeds  to  develop 
its  efiects  and  finiits.  The  first  of 
these  is  peace  or  reconciliation  with 
God.  'When  we  have  this  confiding 
trust  through  Christ  in   God  as  our 


Heavenly  Father,  and  are  put  by  it 
in  the  way  of  righteousness,  the  justi- 
fication process,  we  become  contented 
and  satisfied.  We  bow  to  the  will  of 
God,  we  accept  his  dealings  "srith  us 
submissively,  because  we  are  assured 
that  his  laws  and  his  dispensations,  be 
they  joyous  or  be  they  grievous,  are 
well  meant,  and  full  of  hidden  bless- 
ings and  love.  —  Access.  A  temi 
taken  from  the  custom  of  the  East, 
where  there  is  an  officer  whose  par- 
ticular duty  it  is  to  introduce  persons 
to  the  king  in  his  seclusion  and  state. 
Jesus  introduces  us  to  the  presence 
of  the  Most  High  Sovereign.  —  This 
grace,  or  favor,  is  the  Gospel,  to  which 
the  avenue  is  faith. —  We  stand,  or 
stand  firm ;  in  reference  to  the  wrest- 
lers in  the  games,  who  maintained 
a  strong  and  erect  position.  —  Re- 
joice. The  same  term  in  the  original 
which  is  rendered  boasting  In  hi.  27, 
and  glo7'y  in  iv.  2  and  v.  3,  and 
joy  in  V.  11.  The  hope  of  the  glory 
of  jjod  is  the  hope  of  that  glory  which 
God  gives,  of  which  by  sin  we  come 
short,  but  to  which  by  faith  we  attain, 
il.  23. 

3-5.  Instead  of  regarding  afflic- 
tions, as  the  Jews  were  prone  to  do, 
as  judgments  and  tokens  of  God's  dis- 
pleasure, Paul,  in  the  light  of  Chris- 
tianity, deems  them  as  means  of 
greater  attainments  In  the  true  life 
of  the  soul.  He  proceeds  to  point 
out  the  sequence  of  Cliristian  cxpe- 


TO   THE   ROMANS. 


123 


cause  the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroud  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy 

6  Ghost,  which  is  given  unto  us.     For  when  we  w^ere  yet  without 

7  strength,  in  due  time  Christ  died  for  tlie  ungodly.     For  scarcely  for 
a  righteous  man  will  one  die :  yet  peradventure  for  a  good  man 

8  some  would  even  dare  to  die.     But  God  commendeth  liis  love  to- 
ward us  in  that,  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us. 

9  Much  more  then,  being  now  justified  by  liis  blood,  we  shall  be  saved 
10  from  wrath  through  him.     For  if,  when  we  were  enemies,  we  were 


riences,  and  to  rejoice  in  trials  in- 
stead of  being  cast  down  by  them. 
Ecclus.  ii.  10  ;  Acts  v.  41.  The  order 
is  trial,  patience,  proof,  hope.  Trials, 
properly  borne,  cultivate  patience ; 
patience  affords  us  proof  of  what  we 
really  are,  and  this  proof  becomes  the 
basis  of  our  reasonable  hopes  for  the 
time  to  come,  sucli  as  will  not  fail 
or  disappoint  us,  for  the  exercise  of 
these  affections  and  virtues  in  us  is 
re-enforced  by  a  higher  power,  by 
communications  from  the  love  and 
holy  spirit  of  God  himself.  Robin- 
son translates  the  word  rendered  ex- 
perience by  proof,  approval,  tried 
integrity.  Holy  Ghost,  in  our  version, 
begins  with  capitals,  to  indicate  that 
it  is  a  person  ;  tjut  no  such  idea  is,  we 
beheve,  intended  by  the  original. 
The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  Spirit  of  God, 
which  had  in  love  imparted  spiritual 
graces  and  gifts  to  the  Christian  Apos- 
tles and  believers.  Such  are  the 
glorious  golden  links  of  the  chain 
which  draw  up  the  soul  heavenward, 
—  trial,  patience,  proof,  , hope,  pos- 
session, —  but  they  are  all  melted  and 
welded  in  the  love  of  God  to  us,  and 
are  made  pure  by  his  spirit. 

6.  Without  strength, —  ungodly. 
Terms  in  which  is  described  the  state 
of  the  Jews  under  the  Law,  and  of  the 
Gentiles  in  a  state  of  nature,  at  the 
time  of  the  coming  of  Christ,  accord- 
ing to  chapters  i.,  ii.,  iii.  —  In  due 
time,  i.  e.  the  fulness  of  time,  as  else- 
where expressed  in  the  Scriptures, 
or  the  appointed  time  for  the  coming 


of  Christ.  —  For.  In  behalf  of,  or  for 
the  sake  of,  not  in  the  place  of,  or  as 
a  substitute  for,  the  ungodly. 

7,  8.  To  exalt  the  idea  of  Christ':^ 
seh-sacrifice,  the  Apostle  appeals  to 
the  common  experience  of  mankind. 
For  a  righteous  man,  i.  e.  one  who 
simply  did  right,  scarcely  one  Avould 
be  willing  to  sacrifice  his  life,  though 
for  a  good  man,  one  who  did  good,  a 
public  benefactor,  some  would  have 
resolution  enough  to  give  up  their 
own  hves.  But  the  distinction  of  the 
death  of  Christ  is,  that  it  took  place, 
not  for  the  good,  not  for  the  right- 
eous even,  _but  for  the  downright 
wicked.  Martyrs  die  for  their  coun- 
try, die  for  Christ  and  God,  and  are, 
therefore,  animated  in  their  sufferings 
by  the  dignity  and  holiness  or  great- 
ness of  the  beings  vni\\  which  they 
connect  themselves  by  the  act.  But 
in  the  case  of  Christ  the  sacrifice  was 
for  the  unrighteous  and  wicked. 

9,  10.  The  antithesis  established 
in  these  verses  is  between  what  Christ 
did  for  them  in  a  state  of  sin,  and 
what  he  could  do  after  he  had  by  his 
sufferings  brought  them  into  a  state 
of  faith  and  prospective  righteous- 
ness. In  the  ninth  verse  the  con- 
trasted terms  are  justified  and  saved^ 
and  in  the  tenth  reconciled  and  saved. 
These  are  most  im])ortant  verses,  as 
showing  the  particular  offices  of  the 
death  of  our  Lord,  as  compared  with 
those  fulfilled  by  his  life  and  teach- 
ings. The  pi-ecise  effeet  of  his  death 
was  to  produce  faith  ;  first,  in  his  im- 


124 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


reconciled  to   God  by  the  death  of  his  Son;   much  more,  being 
reconciled,  we  shall  be  saved  by  his  life.     And  not  only  so,  but  we  ii 
also  joy  in  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we  have 


mediate  disciples  and  apostles,  who, 
until  that  event  and  his  resurrection, 
never  really  entered  into  the  spirit- 
ual conception  of  his  kingdom ;  and 
secondly,  in  all  men,  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles, by  this  luminous  and  impressive 
proof  of  his  love,  self-sacrifice,  disin- 
terestedness, and  the  heavenly  nature 
of  the  kingdom  he  came  to  establish. 
That  faith  "thus  produced  was  the  ac- 
cess to  justification,  the  righteous  pro- 
cess ;  therefore,  to  beheve  was  to  be 
justified,  to  be  reconciled ;  and  in 
order  to  effect  behef,  a  real,  com- 
prehensive, and  spiritual  faith,  look- 
ing "  before  and  after "  the  death  of 
the  founder  of  the  system,  seemed  to 
be  unavoidable  and  essential. —  Saved 
from  lorath.  Wrath  in  the  punish- 
ment of  sin,  as  seen  from  the  human 
point  of  view,  but  benevolence  as  seen 
from  the  Divine  plane.  What  is  called 
wrath  in  God  must  be  different  from 
wrath  in  man,  though  it  is  not  to  be 
supposed  that  displeasure  at  sin  and 
approbation  of  virtue  are  unknown 
to  Him  whose  name  and  natiire  are 
Love  and  God  or  the  Good.  What 
the  nature  of  the  icratli  here  spoken 
of  was,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that 
theVoue  of  God  is  said  to  have  pro- 
vided, ver.  8,  15,  the  means  of 
saving  the  sinner.  —  Saved  by  Ms  life. 
This  declai-ation  is  highly  worthy  of 
note,  as  distinguishing  the  life  of 
Jesus,  his  teachings,  examples,  &c., 
as  the  grand  instruments  of  our  own 
salvation  no  less  than  his  death.  His 
cross  wins  us,  reconciles  us,  "  draws," 
as  John  has  it,  "  all  men  unto  him"; 
but  his  spiritual  life,  his  righteous- 
ness, carry  on  in  us  the  process  of 
sanctification,  changing  us  into  the 
same  likeness,  until  our  moral  safety 
is  secured.  God  now  shows  his  mercy, 
not,  as  before,  in  the  death,  but  much 


more  in  the  life  of  Jesus,  his  life  on 
earth  and  his  life  in  heaven. 

11.  Joi/.  Elsewhere  rendered  too 
capriciously  by  King  James's  men, 
boast,  rejoice,  glory.  The  Apostle 
institutes  an  indirect  comparison  here 
between  the  Christian  glorying  in 
God  through  Jesus  Christ,  and  the 
Jew  glorying  in  the  Law  by  Moses,  or 
in  being  the  child  of  Abraham. — 
Atonement.  This  word  occurs  only 
here  in  the  whole  New  Testament, 
but  it  has  singularly  given  a  name  to 
a  much  disputed  Christian  doctrine. 
It  is  the  same  term  wliich,  as  a  verb, 
is  translated  reconciled  in  verse  10. 
It  should  be  here  reconciliation,  a 
restoration  of  the  sinner  from  a  state 
of  disobedience  and  hostility  to  one 
of  union  with  God.  This  sense  was 
intended  by  the  translators  them- 
selves when  they  used  the  tenu  atone- 
ment, for  it  meant  reconciliation,  not 
satisfaction  ov  jjropitiation,  in  the  con- 
temporaneous hterature,  the  "  old 
English  undefiled."  Thus  in  Shake- 
speare's play  of  OtheUo : 

'•'•  Lod.    Is  there  division  'twixt  my  lord  and 

Cassio  ? 
"  Des.    A  most  unhappy  one :    I  would  do 

much 
To  atone  them,  for  the   love  I  hear  to 

Cassio." 

Tluis  in  Beaumont  and  Fletcher : 

"  Bar.     I  have  heen  atoning  two  most  wran- 
gling neighbors." 

Thus  Dryden : 

"  The  king  and  haughty  empress,  to  our  won- 
der, 
If  not  atoned,  yet  seemingly  at  peace." 

Other  examples  might  be  cited  to  the 
same  purport.  So  far  as  this  term  is 
concerned,  the  idea  expressed  by  this 
passage  is,  that,  through  Christ,  the 
sinner,  who  was  before  alienated,  was 
made  at  one  with,  atoned,  reconciled 
to  God. 


v.] 


TO   THE   ROMANS. 


125 


12  now  received   the   atonement.     Wherefore,  as   by  one   man   sin 
entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin ;  and  so  death  passed  upon 


12-21.  In  this  well-known  passage 
Paul  turns  over  a  new  leaf  of  his 
argument,  and  describes  in  a  grand 
and  compreliensive  comparison  the 
benefits  of  the  Gospel  as  made  free 
to  all  mankind.  He  represents  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  spiritual  head,  as  Adam 
was  the  paternal  ancestor,  of  the  whole 
family  of  man.  As  Jew  and  Gentile 
both  dated  back  to  Adam  as  their 
great  natural  head,  so  was  it  designed 
in  the  new  dispensation  that  they 
should  both  ahke,  one  without  exalta- 
tion over  the  other,  hail  from  Christ 
as  their  spiritual  head  and  progenitor. 
This  is  the  leading  outline  of  thought, 
but  the  Apostle  descends  into  a 
minute  comparison  in  many  points 
between  the  physical  and  the  spirit- 
ual Adam.  The  sin  of  the  first  Adam 
is  set  against  the  righteousness  of 
the  second  Adam;  death  produced 
by  sin,  against  the  life  produced  by 
righteousness ;  condemnation,  against 
justification ;  many  made  sinners 
by  one  man's  sin,  against  many 
made  righteous  by  the  obedience  of 
one ;  offences  abounding  by  the  de- 
tective power  of  the  Law,  against 
grace  abounding  even  more ;  sin 
reigning  unto  death,  against  grace 
reigning  through  righteousness  unto 
eternal  life  by  Jesus  Christ.  We 
read  so  familiarly  and  technically 
the  sublime  strains  of  Paul,  and  take 
them  so  much  as  a  matter  of  course, 
inwoven  as  they  are  into  the  current 
theology,  that  we  fail  to  appreciate 
their  wonderful  power  and  richness, 
and  the  immense  addition  they  are  to 
the  treasures  of  Christian  thought. 
However  unable  we  may  be  to  ar- 
range the  exact  joints  and  articu- 
lations of  this  compact  logic,  we  can 
yet  gain  sufficient  inkling  of  the  gen- 
eral purpose  to  be  satisfied  that  Paul 
was  no  loose,  inconsequential  writer, 
and  that,  though  addicted  to  rabbin- 


ical styles  of  expression  and  ar- 
rangement which  sometimes  embar- 
rass us,  he  yet  soared  with  a  lofty 
genius  and  a  Christian  freedom  into 
regions  all  his  own. 

12.  Sin  entered  into  the  world  by 
one  man,  because,  according  to  the 
history  in  Genesis,  Adam  was  the 
first  to  sin,  the  first  to  set  an  exam- 
ple, and  to  infect  his  constitution,  and, 
through  the  laws  of  hereditary  de- 
scent, the  constitution  of  his  posterity, 
with  evil  more  or  less  inveterate. 
But  the  supposition  that  Adam  acted 
in  any  federative  capacity  by  which 
all  men  became  hostile  by  their  very 
nature  to  all  good  and  prone  to  all  evil, 
is  a  monstrous  impeachment  of  His 
goodness  who  should  thus  place  on  so 
perilous  a  contingency  the  fate  of  a 
whole  race.  It  is  a  supposition  not 
sustained  by  facts ;  for  bad  as  men  are, 
they  are  not  purely  evil.  It  is  a  sup- 
position not  recpiired  by  any  means  in 
this  course  of  reasoning ;  for  it  is  of  sin, 
actual  transgression,  positive  offences, 
disobedience,  not  of  depravity  of 
nature,  that  Paul  is  here  speaking. 
By  turning  rhetoric  into  logic,  and 
figures  of  speech  into  literal  proposi- 
tions, the  warm  pictures  of  man's 
actual  wickedness  have  been  con- 
verted into  cold  formulas,  expressive 
of  the  total  theoretic  depravity  of  his 
spiritual  constitution.  —  One  man. 
Adam  is  mentioned  as  being  the 
more  conspicuous  actor,  and  standing 
for  the  twain  who  were  one  flesh.  — 
Death  hy  sin.  The  penalty  joined  to 
the  offence.  What  is  that  penalty  ? 
That  it  is  not  merely  natural,  physical 
death,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that 
the  grace  of  God  by  Christ  does  not 
remove  it,  but  men  continue  to  die  as 
before.  By  death  we  are  to  under- 
stand, then,  moral  as  well  as  natural 
evil ;  it  is  a  general  term  to  describe 
all  the  bad  consequences  of  disobe^ 


126 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


all  men,  for  that  all  have  smned :  for  until  the  law  sin  was  in  the  13 
world :  but  sin  is  not  imputed  when  there  is  no  law.    Nevertheless,  i4 
death  reigned  from  Adam  to  Moses,  even  over  them  that  had  not 
sinned  after  the  simiUtude  of  Adam's  transgression,  who  is  the 
figure  of  him  that  was  to  come.     But  not  as  the  offence,  so  also  15 
is  the  free  gift :  for  if  through  the  offence  of  one  many  be  dead, 
much  more  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  gift  by  grace,  which  is  by 


dience,  both  to  the  body  and  the 
soul.  The  redemption  of  the  Gospel 
delivers  men  from  bad  habits,  de- 
structive vices,  which  attack  health 
and  life,  from  the  fear  of  death, 
which  is  its  chief  evU,  and  from  sin, 
which  disqualifies  the  soul  for  its  fuU 
hfe  and  happiness  hereafter.  The 
mistake  we  often  make  in  trying  to 
understand  a  passage  like  this,  freely, 
popularly  written,  is  that  we  cut  too 
close,  press  the  meaning  of  terms  too 
far,  and  do  not  give  enough  scope  and 
freedom  of  movement  to  a  deeply 
moved  and  highly  impassioned  nature, 
pouring  itself  out  in  a  mingled  flood 
of  arguments,  illustrations,  historical 
references,  glancing  from  heaven  to 
earth,  and  earth  to  heaven,  to  the 
past,  to  the  future,  to  man,  to  God, 
to  Adam,  to  Christ,  to  life,  death, 
and  futurity.  —  All  have  sinned.  All 
sufier  the  penalty,  because  all  have 
committed  the  offence,  and  not  merely 
because  Adam  sinned.  Nothing  ap- 
pears in  this  passage  of  what  school- 
men and  theorists  call  original  sin; 
it  is  actual,  personal  unrighteousness 
which  is  laid  at  every  man's  door. 

13-17.  This  passage  is  an  ex- 
planatory and  parenthetical  one  ac- 
cording to  the  common  version,  though 
Griesbach  and  Tischendorf  incor- 
porate it  into  the  regular  tenor  of 
discourse.  —  For  until  the  law.  I.  e. 
sin  existed  not  only  after  the  La»v  was 
given,  by  which  it  was  more  fully 
brought  to  light,  but  it  was  found  in 
the  world  from  the  beginning,  though 
not  imputed  or  charged  so  severely 
upon  men  who  lived  only  under  the 


Hght  of  nature.  Actsxvii.30.  Neander 
gives  the  following  as  the  probable 
train  of  thought  in  ver.  13,  14,  a 
very  obscure  passage  :  "  Paul  brings 
forward  the  objection  that  the  sin  of 
Adam  had  reigned  in  the  world  until 
Moses,  although  no  positive  law  was 
in  existence,  and  without  law  there 
could  be  no  imputation  of  sin.  He 
repels  this  objection  by  the  fact  that 
death  still  reigned  even  over  those 
who  had  not  sinned,  like  Adam,  against 
a  positive  law.  This  fact  is  an  ob- 
jective evidence  of  imputation,  and, 
as  is  evident  from  the  preceding  re- 
marks, this  imputation  proves  itself 
to  be  just  in  the  conscience,  which 
exhibits  men  as  transgressors  of  an 
undeniable  divine  law." —  The  figure 
of  him  that  was  to  come.  1.  e.  the 
second  Adam.  In  what  respects  the 
first  Adam  was  a  type  or  figure  of 
the  second  is  unfolded  by  the  Apostle 
in  the  following  passage,  to  the  end 
of  the  chapter. 

15.  Some  critics  make  the  first 
clause  of  this  and  of  the  16th  verse 
interrogative  instead  of  affirmative. 
Paul  discriminates  the  difference  be- 
tween the  offence  of  the  first  and  the 
gift  of  the  second  Adam.  While,  by 
the  sin  of  the  first,  the  consequences 
of  death  passed  upon  many,  i.  e.  all, 
so  by  the  second  did  the  gracious  gift 
of  God  in  life  and  light  and  love 
abound  unto  many,  i.  e.  aU.  The 
remedy  provided  was  designed  to  be 
as  extensive  as  the  malady.  The 
"  many "  in  one  case  is  as  broad  a 
term  as  the  "many"  in  the  other. 
We  may  dwell  upon  single  terms,  and 


v.] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


127 


16  one  man,  Jesus  Christ,  hath  abounded  unto  many.  And  not  as  it 
was  by  one  that  smned,  so  is  the  gift :  for  the  judgment  was  by  one 
to  condemnation,  but  the  free  gift  is  of  many  offences  unto  justifi- 

17  cation.  For  if  by  one  man's  offence  death  reigned  by  one ;  much 
more  they  which  receive  abundance  of  grace  and  of  the  gift  of 

18  righteousness  shall  reign  ui  Iffe  by  one,  Jesus  Christ.  Therefore, 
as  by  the  offence  o^  ono,  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemna- 
tion, even  so  by  the  righteousness  of  one  the  free  gift  came  upon 

19  all  men  unto  justification  of  life.  For  as  by  one  man's  disobedience 
many  were  made  sinners,  so  by  the  obedience  of  one  shall  many 

20  be  made  righteous.  Moreover,  the  law  entered,  that  the  offence 
migjit  abound.     But  where  sin  abounded,  grace  did  much   more 


squeeze  a  great  deal  of  meaning  out 
of  cue  or  two  words,  and  pour  our 
theories  into  the  vehicles  prepared  by 
the  author,  but  we  do  not  thus  arrive 
most  directly  at  his  probable  mean- 
ing, for  we  may  thus  refine  until  we 
refine  all  the  substantial  meaning 
away.  Any  other  work  reduced  to 
this  exhaustive  process  would  be  en- 
tirely killed,  but  the  Bible  has  an 
indestructible  vitaHty,  and  bears  being 
murdered  again  and  again  by  dull 
and  prosy  theologians  and  commen- 
tators. 

1 6 .  Then  another  superiority  of  the 
Christian  over  the  Adamie  state  was, 
that  in  one  case  it  was  a  penalty  in- 
curred by  one  at  first,  and  visited 
upon  the  guilty  and  condemned ;  but 
m  the  other,  free  grace  abounded 
notwithstanding  many  offences,  to 
put  mankind  into  the  process  of 
righteousness  and  justification. 

17-19.  These  are  amplifications 
of  the  same  thought,  and  presenting 
other  faces  of  the  same  crystal.  In 
ver.  17,  the  contrast  is  between 
death  and  life,  in  ver.  18,  between 
condemnation  and  justification,  and 
in  ver.  19,  between  one  man's  dis- 
obedience leading  to  many  sins,  and 
many  men's  righteousness  resulting 
from    one    man's    obedience.  —  One 


man's  offence  should  read  one  offence. 
— Made  righteous.  Tliis  points  to 
the  position  which  we  have  all  along 
endeavored  to  establish  in  regard  to 
the  interpretation  of  this  Epistle,  that 
the  great  question  with  Paul  was  not 
justification  by  faith,  as  both  Ortho- 
dox and  Liberal  interpreters  seem  to 
allow,  but  righteousness  by  faith.  It 
was  not  how  God  might  treat  or  re- 
gard man  being  a  sinner  as  if  he 
were  righteous,  but  how  he  might 
render  him  being  a  sinner  really  right- 
eous. It  was  not  a  justification-pro- 
cess, but  primarily  a  righteousness- 
process,  a  mode  of  making  man  right- 
eous, and  only  secondarily  a  process 
of  justification. 

20.  That  the  offence.  Not  of  course 
in  order  to  make  it  abound,  but  so 
that  it  did  abound.  To  obviate  the 
tacit  objection  which  might  be  made 
why  the  Law  should  enter,  as  if  to 
aggravate  the  evils  of  the  Adamie 
state  and  multiply  offences  by  exalt- 
ing the  moral  standard,  it  might  now 
be  said  that  it  was  done  to  bring  out 
in  bolder  relief  the  abounding  grace 
of  the  Gospel.  "  The  universaHty  of 
the  Apostle's  expressions  is  very 
remarkable.  The  same  '  many '  who 
were  made  sinners  by  the  disobedi- 
ence of  one  are  made  righteous  by 


128 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


abound :  that  as  sin  hath  reigned  unto  death,  even  so  might  grace  21 
reign  through  righteousness  unto  eternal  Hfe  by  Jesus  Chiist  our 
Lord. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  DoctHnes  of  Emancipation  from  Sin,  and  Sanctif  cation  of  Heart  and  Life. 
What  shall  we  say  then  ?     Shall  we  contmue  m  sin,  that  grace 


the  obedience  of  the  other.  If  all 
men  are  condemned  by  the  offence 
of  one,  the  same  all  are  justified  by 
the  righteousness  of  the  other.  These 
universal  terms,  so  frequently  re- 
peated and  so  variously  diversified, 
cannot  be  reconciled  to  the  Hmitation 
of  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel  to  the 
elect  alo7ie,  or  to  a  part  only  of  the 
human  race." 

21.  Sin  and  grace  are  represented 
as  two  monarchs  disputing  the  throne 
of  the  world,  and  reigning  over  their 
respective  empires  of  death  and  life. 
But,  as  if  to  guard  against  misappre- 
hension both  here  and  elsewhere, 
righteousness  is  constantly  introduced 
as  the  result  of  grace,  and  as  the  con- 
dition of  eternal  life.  Instead  of  a 
good  life  and  character  being  under- 
valued by  the  Apostle  in  these  pas- 
sages as  of  little  worth,  they  are  put 
in  the  foreground  as  the  object  of 
grace,  and  the  fruit  of  the  Gospel, 
and  the  preliminary  to  that  eternal 
life  by  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ. 

Judaism  still  hngers  in  the  Chris- 
tian churches.  The  Epistles  of  Paul 
are  needed  to  emancipate  us,  and 
lead  us  into  the  fulness  and  freedom 
of  the  knowledge  of  Christ. 

CHAPTER  Yl. 

The  doctrine  of  justification  has 
been  hitherto  discussed,  but  from  this 
point  in  the  Epistle  the  doctrine  of 
sanctification  is  taken  vip.  These 
words, J usdfi cat  10)1  and  sanctifca'ion, 
are  old  theological  terms,  and  thc}- 
convey  little  meaning  now  to  many. 


Let  us  try  to  explain  them.  The 
Jews  claimed  the  privileges  of  the 
Gospel  exclusively  to  themselves,  but 
Paul  opens  the  door  to  the  Gentiles 
as  also  embraced  in  the  plan  of  the 
grace  of  God.  Neither  Jew  nor 
Gentile  had  any  merits  or  clauns  to 
plead ;  both  were  sinners  before  God, 
and  he  admitted  them  to  the  blessings 
of  his  love  freely,  without  money  and 
without  price.  He  put  them,  in  other 
words,  in  the  way  of  becoming,  of 
being  made. just,  holy,  good.  The 
Jews  were  taken  as  they  were,  and 
the  Gentiles  were  taken  as  they 
were ;  and  the  Jews  did  not  have  to 
become  Gentiles,  nor  the  Gentiles 
Jews,  in  order  to  become  the  disciples 
of  Christ.  They  were  both  put  in 
the  way,  entered  in  the  school,  the 
Church,  the  fold  of  Christ,  freeh',  by 
the  pure  and  loving  and  compas- 
sionate grace  and  favor  of  God.  The 
sole  condition  of  their  entrance  was 
faith,  confidence ;  for  in  order  to  get 
any  good  from  the  Gospel,  they  must 
come  to  it  in  a  humble,  believing, 
prepared  state  of  mind,  conscious  of 
sin,  conscious  of  spiritual  need,  and 
relying  fully  upon  Christ  as  able  to 
supply  that  need  to  the  utmost.  It 
then  depended  subsequently  upon 
the  personal  fidelity  of  the  disciple 
how  far  he  was  benefited,  purified, 
quickened,  and  prospered  in  the 
spiritual  hie,  after  thus  by  an  act  of 
free  and  unpurchased  love  and  grace 
being  put  in  the  way  of  God's  right- 
eousness, i.  e.  in  God's  method  and 
culture  for  making  righteous,  holy, 
and  good  men.     The  question  arose, 


VL] 


TO  THE  ROMANS. 


129 


2  may  abound  ?     God  forbid.     How  shall  we,  that  are  dead  to  sin, 

3  live  any  longer  therein  ?     Know  je  not,  that  so  many  of  us  as 
were  baptized  into  Jesus  Christ  were  bajDtized  into  liis  death? 


and  Paul  proceeds  to  discuss  it, 
whether  so  generous  and  gracious  a 
system,  relaxing  the  seventy  of  the 
old  Hebrew  law,  would  not  be  abused, 
and  the  Gospel,  free  to  Jew  or  Gen- 
tile, asking  only  faith  or  trust  as  its 
elementary  condition,  disdaining  no 
sinner,  however  flagrant,  be  made  a 
system  of  license,  and  not  a  culture 
of  holiness.  After  being  placed  by 
the  liberal  ofiers  of  Christianity  on 
the  basis  of  this  ample  justification, 
the  sins  of  neither  Jews  nor  Gentiles 
being  any  more  remembered  against 
them,  and  only  faith  being  demanded 
for  the  present  and  fidelity  for  the 
future,  would  the  system  work  well  ? 
would  they  not  relapse,  would  they 
not  be  ready  to  yield  to  sin  because 
God  had  provided  such  ample  means 
to  cancel  and  destroy  it,  and  so  mer- 
cifully increased  his  blessings  when 
men  had  most  aggravated  their  trans- 
gressions ?  Hitherto  the  Apostle  had 
applied  himself  to  the  discussion  of 
the  establishment  and  conditions  of 
the  Gospel  method  of  righteousness 
and  holiness ;  he  now  turns  to  its 
practical  reception  and  operation,  the 
philosophy  of  its  motives  and  influ- 
ences, and  how  it  would  bear  upon 
human  nature  to  sanctify  it.  In  other 
words,  he  now  changes  the  topic  from 
justification  to  sanctification. 

1,  2.  The  argument  is  further  de- 
veloped. The  objection  would  nat- 
urally arise,  that,  if  no  virtue  of  ours 
could  establish  any  claim  to  God's 
favor  on  the  ground  of  merit,  but  that 
his  blessings  must  still  descend  to  us 
on  the  score  of  his  free  love  and 
grace,  the  Apostle  was  confounding 
all  moral  distinctions.  If,  as  men  be- 
came more  corrupt,  the  mercy  of  God 
had  been  made  more  apparent,  should 
we  not  continue  and  increase  in  sin. 


to  call  down  more  and  more  of  such 
glorious  gifts  of  the  Spirit?  The 
answer,  in  one  \vord,  is,  No ;  it  would 
be  inconsistent. —  God  forhid.  Let  it 
not  be.  —  Dead  to  sin,  live,  &c.  The 
two  courses  are  as  opposite  as  any 
thing  can  be ;  one  is  as  death,  and 
the  other  as  life.  If  we  are  really 
dead,  we  certainly  cannot  five.  So 
the  man  of  sin  is  slain  once  for  all. 
Paul  may  be  here  regarded  not  so 
much  as  answering  existing  as  antici- 
pated objections  which  his  large  and 
sympathetic  moral  imagination,  not 
to  say  prophetic  power,  foresaw.  Anti- 
nomianism  was  the  name  later  given 
to  this  exaggeration  of  grace  to  the 
discredit  of  practical  obedience  and 
good  works. 

3-7.  The  simple  thought  here  is, 
that  the  disciples  of  Christ  by  bap- 
tism, which  was  the  sign  of  their 
allegiance  to  their  Master,  had  re- 
nounced their  former  wicked  life,  and 
could  not  therefore  consistently  re- 
sume it.  As  has  been  said,  if  Christ 
died  /or  sin,  they  died  to  sin.  But 
the  mind  of  Paul,  rich  in  comparison 
and  analog}',  was  not  content  with 
the  simple  thought.  He  overflows ; 
he  pours  out  a  flood  of  contrasts,  re- 
semblances, relations  to  the  central 
idea,  fragmentary  and  incomplete,  but 
suggestive  and  instinct  with  power 
and  hfe.  With  what  a  master's  hand 
does  he  carve  out  new  forms  and 
images  of  truth,  and  create  new 
spheres  of  contemplation  !  We  are 
apt  to  make  so  much  of  the  inspira- 
tion of  Paul  that  we  are  blind  to  his 
sublime  genius,  one  of  the  greatest  in 
every  faculty  that  was  ever  enshrined 
in  mortal  clay. 

Baptized  into  Jesus  Christ.  So  was 
it  said  of  the  Israehtes  that  they  were 
baptized  into  Moses  in  the  cloud  and 


130 


THE   EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


Therefore  we  are  buried  with  him  by  baptism  into  death :  that  like  4 
as  Chi-ist  was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father, 
even  so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life.     For  il*  we  have  5 
been  planted  together  in  the  likeness  of  his  death,  we  shall  be 
also  in  the  likeness  of  his  resurrection :  knowing  this,  that  our  old  6 
man  is  crucified  with  him,  that  the  body  of  sin  might  be  destroyed, 
that  henceforth  we  should  not  serve  sm.     For  he  that  is  dead  is  7 
freed  from  sin.     Now  if  we  be  dead  with  Christ,  we  beUeve  that  s 


in  the  sea.  1  Cor.  x.  2.  This  mode 
of  expression  means  that  they  took 
upon  themselves  the  profession  of  a 
faith  or  rehgion  by  such  a  rite  as 
baptism,  or  figuratively  by  whatever 
outward  sign.  Matt,  xxviii.  19.  To 
be  baptized  into  Christ  meant  the 
same  as  to  be  baptized  into  the  name 
of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. 
We  get  a  clew  to  several  facts  here. 
1.  Baptism  was  a  perpetuated  Chris- 
tian rite.  2.  Baptism  was  a  token  of 
Christ's  death,  as  well  as  the  Supper. 
3.  Baptism  would  seem  to  have  been 
performed  by  affusion  or  inmiersion  ; 
though,  from  the  silence  of  the  Scrip- 
tures on  the  subject  as  to  the  definite 
mode,  we  learn  that  that  mode  was 
not  essential,  else  it  would  have  been 
described.  The  silence  as  well  as 
the  speech  of  the  Scriptures  is  signifi- 
cant. The  somewhat  circuitous  path 
of  the  Apostle's  association  of  ideas 
seems  to  be  first,  in  ver.  2,  of  the 
Christian  having  died  to  sin,  theu, 
ver.  3,  this  death  to  sin  having  been 
symbolized  by  baptism  into  the  great 
vital  fact  of  the  Gospel,  the  dearth  of 
Christ ;  from  death,  by  a  natural  as- 
sociation, he  passes,  ver.  4,  to  the 
resurrection  from  death,  verified 
bodily  in  Christ,  and  to  be  verified 
spiritually  in  each  behever;  in  ver. 
5,  he  clinches  the  connection  of  ideas 
between  baptism  and  burial,  death 
and  resurrection,  by  reiterating  it  in 
more  direct  terms ;  and,  ver.  6,  is  led, 
in  speaking  of  Christ's  death,  to  recall 
what  kind  of  a  death  it  was,  crucifixion. 


and  that,  as  his  body  was  crucified,  so 
should  our  old  man,  our  body  of  sin, 
perish,  and  then  we  should  be  eman- 
cipated from  the  service  of  sin ;  for 
he  who  is  dead,  or  that  which  is  dead, 
cannot  sin.  Thus  this  oblicjue  and 
somewhat  zigzag  chain-work  of  ideas 
conducts  us  to  the  same  conclusion  as 
above,  that,  as  the  man  of  sin  had 
been  slain  once  for  all,  he  could  not 
by  any  possibility  rise  again  to  do 
mischief.  It  was  simply  irrational 
and  impossible,  therefore,  for  a  Chris- 
tian to  talk  of  continuing  in  that  to 
which  he  had  died. 

7-11.  An  amplification  of  the 
same  thought  of  the  inconsistency  of 
a  Christian  voluntarily  continuing  in 
sin.  As  the  Apostle  had  showed  on 
the  negative  side  of  death  the  impos- 
sibility of  living  any  longer  by  choice 
in  sin,  so  now  he  shows  the  same  im- 
possibility on  the  positive  side  of  hfe. 
—  Dead  to  sin.  They  could  not  abide 
in  it  or  return  to  it  any  more ;  now 
much  more,  being  alive  to  righteous- 
ness, they  could  not  relapse.  They 
have  had  therefore  two  pledges  to 
the  faithfulness  of  disciplesliip, — 
death  to  sin  and  life  to  Christ.  They 
were  as  insensible  to  sin  as  the  dead 
are  to  an  object,  and  they  were  as 
conscious  of  Christ  as  if  he  were  an 
integral  part  of  their  being,  or  section 
of  their  life. 

7,  8.  There  are  two  conclusions  to 
the  proposition  in  ver.  6,  that  "  the 
old  man  "  is  crucified  ;  one  is,  that  he 
who  is  thus  dead  is  "  freed,"  literally 


VI.] 


TO  THE   ROMANS. 


131 


9  we  sliall  also  live  with  him :    knowing  that  Christ,  being  raised 

from  the  dead,  dieth  no  more ;  death  hath  no  more  dominion  over 

10  him.     For  in  that  he  died,  he  died  unto  sin  once  :  but  in  that  he 

]  1  liveth,  he  hveth  unto  God.     Likewise  reckon  ye  also  yourselves  to 

be  dead,  indeed  unto  sin,  but  ahve  unto  God  thi'ough  Jesus  Christ 

1-2  our  Lord.     Let  not  sin  therefore  reign  in  your  mortal  body,  that 

13  ye  should  obey  it  in  the  lusts   thereof.     Neither   yield  ye  your 

members  as  instruments  of  unrighteousness  unto  sin  :  but   yield 


justified^  from  sin,  or  delivered  from 
its  degrading  service  and  bondage, — 
a  negative  benefit ;  and  also,  ver.  8, 
that  there  is  a  positive  new  life,  an- 
swering to  the  new  organic  spiritual 
man,  implanted  by  Christ.  The  lan- 
guage of  the  seventh  verse  is  proba- 
bly a  scrap  from  the  Talmud,  which 
Paul  knew  by  heart,  where  it  says, 
"  The  man  who  cUes  is  freed  from  the 
commandments.  1  Pet.  iv.  1."  And 
the  analogy  is  drawn  in  ver.  8,  that, 
if  we  follow  Jesus  in  liis  death,  we 
shall  also  follow  him  in  his  life  and 
resurrection.  Neander  remarks,  with 
great  justice,  that  "expositors,  for 
want  of  entering  sufficiently  into  the 
profound  views  of  the  Apostle,  and 
of  grasping  the  comprehensive  sur- 
vey that  stretches  from  the  present 
into  the  future,  have  often  erred,  by 
a  mistaken  reference  of  such  passages 
either  solely  to  the  spiritual  resun-ec- 
tion  of  the  present  state,  or  solely  to 
the  bodily  resurrection  of  the  future." 
The  truth  is,  that  Paul  often  merges 
and  mingles  one  in  the  other,  with  a 
free  and  flowing  rhetoric,  that  does 
not  stop  to  measure  words. 

9,  10.  He  argues  that  the  death  of 
Christ,  the  Head  of  the  new  faith, 
ought  not  to  shake  any  one's  confi- 
dence in  the  eternity  of  his  spiritual 
power  and  life.  For  he  died  to  sin, 
or  on  account  of  the  sinful",  uudeyel- 
oped  spiritual  condition  of  mankind 
once,  or  once  for  all,  and  so  he  can- 
not die  again,  liis  "  passion  "  cannot 
be  repeated.     "This  death  was  the 


death  of  death."  The  connection  he 
once  sustained  to  a  mortal  and 
tempted  concUtion  is  broken  for  ever. 
But  so  far  as  his  life  is  concerned, 
that  is  infinite  and  eternal,  for  it  has 
God  for  its  scope,  to  whom  he  liveth. 
Xone  would  infer  from  this  passage, 
as  some  beheve,  that  the  Son  of  God 
is  the  sole  God  since  his  ascension, 
or  that  his  distinct  and  conscious  per- 
sonality, which  he  possessed  on  earth, 
is  swallowed  up  and  lost  in  the  God- 
head. The  personal  existence  of 
Jesus  is  as  distinctly  recognized 
apart  from  God  in  heaven  as  on 
earth. 

11.  For  the  same  thing  is  required 
of  the  disciple  as  of  his  Master.  Like 
Christ,  like  Christian.  The  twofold 
process,  —  death  to  sin,  and  fife  to 
God,  —  they  also  are  to  undergo,  with 
this  difference,  that  it  is  to  be  carried 
on  through  a  medium,  a  Mediator, 
"  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  " ; 
a  term  which  stands  for  his  whole 
life,  death,  teachings.  Gospel  ;  for 
they  are  all  media,  instrumentahties, 
agencies  to  accomplish  the  union  of 
man  with  God  and  of  man  with  man. 

12  - 14.  The  personification  of  Sin 
is  continued.  —  Thei^fore.  The  ra- 
tional conclusion  from  the  foregoing 
remarks  was,  that  the  dominion  of 
sin  was  not  to  be  allowed  even  in 
our  mortal  bodies,  whose  passions  and 
appetites  are  so  strong,  much  less  in 
the  immortal  mind.  The  body  of 
itself  cannot  of  course  sin,  any  more 
than  any  other  mass  of  matter,  but 


132 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


yourselves  unto  God,  as  those  that  are  alive  from  the  dead,  and 
your  members  as  instruments  of  righteousness  unto  God.     For  sin  i 
shall  not  have  dominion  over  you :  for  ye  are  not  under  the  law, 
but  under  grace.     What  then  ?  shall  we  sin,  because  we  are  not  15 
under  the  law,  but  under  grace  ?     God  forbid.     Know  ye  not,  that  le 
to  whom  ye  }deld  yourselves  servants  to  obey,  liis  servants  ye  are 


through  its  senses  and  propensities, 
which°  are  aU  good  in  themselves, 
and  only  evil  when  allowed  to  gain 
the  ascendency  over  the  moral  and 
spiritual  faculties,  the  body  can  bring 
even  the  mind  into  subjection  to  the 
law  of  the  members,  and  turn  the 
very  instruments  created  by  God  for 
righteous  and  holy  purposes  into 
weapons  of  moral  evil.  Thus  hunger 
may  lead  to  gluttony,  thirst  to  drunk- 
enness, love  to  lust,  speech  to  slan- 
der, and  by  this  civil  insurrection 
and  war  within  man,  the  ti-ue  sover- 
eignty may  be  usurped  by  the  mob 
of%odily  passions.  But  it  is  a  totally 
unauthorized  and  most  pernicious 
error  to  infer  that  man  is  born  natu- 
rally and  whohy  depraved,  because 
he  is  connected  for  a  time  with  this 
material  organization,  out  of  whose 
perversion  these  occasions  to  sin 
arise.  The  mind  and  the  members 
were  both  pronounced  "good"  by 
the  AU-wise  Creator,  and  it  is  only 
when  the  order  of  authority  is  re- 
versed, and  the  law  of  the  mind  is 
subjugated  to  the  law  of  the  mem- 
bers, that  we  can  call  either  mind  or 
members  evil.  He  then  libels  not 
only  himself,  but  his  Maker,  who  lit- 
erally, and  not  in  an  impassioned  and 
figurative  sense,  calls  his  nature  to- 
tally depraved.  Man  can  hardly 
sink  so  low,  or  so  entirely  divest 
himself  of  the  spiritual  attributes, 
that  something  good,  some  "  moral 
remains,"  will  not  survive. 

"  E'en  from  the  tomb  the  voice  of  Xature  cries, 
E'en  in  our  ashes  Utc  their  wonted  fires." 

Chrysostom  well  remarks :  "  He  does 
not   say.    Let    not    the    flesh    live. 


neither  act,  but.  Let  not  sin  reign. 
For  he  came  not  to  abrogate  hu- 
man nature,  but  to  rectify  the  wiU." 
—  Alive  from  the  dead.  The  Greeks 
and  Romans,  polished  as  they  were 
by  a  splendid  material  and  intellect- 
ual civilization,  were  spiritually  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sin,  and  even  sur- 
passed the  untutored  children  of  na- 
ture in  their  rank  vices  of  sensuality. 
But  the  Christian  believers  had  been 
brought  to  life  from  this  moral  death, 
and  they  were  bound  therefore  to 
bring  forth  the  fruits  of  such  a  hfe  in 
all  manner  of  virtues  and  graces.  — 
Fo7'  sin  shall  not  have,  ^'c.  The 
promise  is  given,  that  sin  would  be 
even  better  subdued  imder  grace,  or 
the  gracious  influence  of  Christianity, 
than  under  a  legal  system  like  the 
Mosaic  code,  or,  in  general,  any  dis- 
jDensation  of  law.  For  law  appeals 
to  only  a  part  of  man's  nature,  his 
will,  conscience,  understanding,  and 
fears,  but  grace  to  the  higher  afiec- 
tions  and  aspirations  likewise,  which 
are  far  more  availing  and  enduring. 
The  fact,  therefore,  that  they  were 
under  the  gracious  system  of  Chris- 
tianity, with  all  its  tender  and  affect- 
ing motives  of  Christ  and  him  cruci- 
fied, instead  of  relaxing  their  moral 
conduct,  was  even  more  effectual 
than  the  austere  code  of  Moses  to 
guard  them  against  sin. 

15,  16.  The  Apostle  resumes  the 
question  of  ver.  1,  with  a  modifica- 
tion, though  it  is  rather  a  new  illus- 
tration than  a  new  argument  he  gives 
in  the  following  verses.  The  main 
idea  of  the  first  of  the  chapter  was, 
that  it  was  simply  inconsistent  and 


VI.] 


TO   THE  KOMANS. 


133 


to  whom  ye  obey ;  whether  of  sin  unto  death,  or  of  obedience  unto 

17  righteousness  ?  But  God  be  thanked,  that  ye  were  the  servants  of 
sin,  but  ye  have  obeyed  from  the  heart  that  form  of  doctrine  which 

18  was  deUveredyou.     Being  then  made  free  from  sin,  ye  became  the 

19  servants  of  righteousness.  I  speak  after  the  manner  of  men  be- 
cause of  the  infirmity  of  your  flesh :  for  as  ye  have  yielded  your 
members  servants  to  uncleanness  and  to  iniquity  unto  iniquity ; 
even  so  now  yield  your  members  servants  to  righteousness  unto 

20  hohness.     For  when  ye  were  the  servants  of  sin,  ye  were  free  from 


impossisible  that  one  who  had  died  to 
his  old  sinful  life  should  continue  in 
it  any  longer.  He  organically  cut  off 
from  such  an  inconsequence  as  well 
as  immorality.  The  main  idea  of  the 
last  half  of  the  chapter  is  that  of  ser- 
vice, slavery  ;  an  illustration  well  un- 
derstood then,  and,  alas !  too  intel- 
ligible now.  After  stating  the  cavil- 
ler's objection,  and  expressing  his 
abhorrence  of  it, —  God  forbid^ — he 
proceeds  to  remind  them  of  the  neces- 
sity of  the  servant  rendering  obedi- 
ence to  liis  master.  The  service  we 
have  chosen  we  must  take  the  con- 
sequence of,  for  we  cannot  obey  one 
master  and  obtain  the  rewards  of 
another.  We  are  paid  in  kind.  Good 
is  paid  with  good,  and  evil  is  paid 
with  evil.  —  His  servants  ye  are,  &c. 
You  must  take  the  alternative  of  the 
condition  you  have  adopted.  God 
does  not  punish  men  arbitrarily,  but 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  course 
they  pursue.  He  has  affixed  by  con- 
stant laws  certain  consequences  to 
certain  actions.  He  has  coupled  sin 
and  death,  and  obedience. and  right- 
eousness, by  irreversible  bonds.  To 
be  good  is  to  be  happy,  i.  e.  to  five ; 
to  be  wicked  is  to  be  miserable,  i.  e. 
to  die. 

1 7.  That  ye  were  the  servants  of  sin. 
The  emphatic  word  is  were.  The 
matter  for  thanks  was  not  in  reality 
that  they  were,  but  that  they  were  so 
no  longer.  A  truer  rendering  there- 
fore would  be, "  But  God  be  thanked, 
12 


that,  having  been  the  servants  of  sin, 
ye  have  obeyed,"  &c.  —  That  form, 
original,  mould,  type  o/ doctrine.  The 
disciples  are  represented  as  poured 
like  melted  wax  or  metal  into  this 
mould,  and  taking  the  exact  impres- 
and  stamp  of  Christianity. 

18-20.  You  cannot  but  be  the  ser- 
vants of  somebody.  There  is  no 
other  alternative.  Again,  if  you  are 
the  servants  pf  one,  you  cannot  be 
the  servants  of  another.  No  man 
can  serve  two  masters.  Formerly 
you  were  under  bondage  to  sin, 
and,  of  course,  you  were  exempt  from 
the  service  of  righteousness,  ver.  20. 
But  having  changed  this  service  from 
one  master  to  another,  you  are  now 
the  servants  of  righteousness,  and  are 
just  as  free  from  the  service  of  sin 
now  as  you  were  from  that  of  right- 
eousness before,  ver.  18.  And,  ver. 
1 9,  as  in  one  case  there  was  a  progress 
from  step  to  step,  a  pihng  up  of  sin  on 
sin,  and  your  faculties,  by  the  momen- 
tum of  habit  and  use,  acquired  greater 
and  greater  proneness  to  evil ;  so 
now,  as  the  process  is  reversed,  these 
same  members  and  powers  of  your 
nature  gain  more  and  more  aptitude 
for  the  new  service,  and  go  on  from 
moral  righteousness  to  spiritual  hoh- 
ness, from  justification  to  sanctifica- 
tion.  —  I  speak  after  the  manner  of 
men,  &c. ;  i.  e.  I  take  illustrations 
from  human  society  and  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery,  with  which  you  are 
familiar,  in  order  that  you  may,  not- 


134 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


righteousness.     What  fruit  had  ye  then  in  those  things  whereof  ye  21 
are  now  ashamed  ?  for  the  end  of  those  things  is  death.     But  now  22 
being  made  free  from  sin,  and  become  servants  to  Qpod,  ye  have 
your  fruit  unto  hohness,  and  the  end  everlasting  Hfe.  For  the  wages  23 
of  sin  is  death ;  but  the  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord. 


withstanding  your  unspirituality,  the 
better  understand  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ. 

21-23.  Having  portrayed  the  dif- 
ferent nature  of  the  service  of  their 
former  life  and  the  service  of  Christ, 
and  the  utter  inconsistency  and  im- 
possibility, if  they  had  become  Chris- 
tians, of  their  going  back  to  waUow 
in  the  mire  of  heathenism  again,  or  to 
accept  the  beggarly  elements  of  a 
former  dispensation,  Paul  now  antith- 
esizes  the  rewards  of  one  career  to 
those  of  the  other,  as  a  continuation 
of  the  same  argument  why  they  could 
not  continue  in  sin. —  What  fruit. 
The  phrase  is  significant.  Not  by 
arbitrary  rewards  and  punishments 
does  the  Moral  Governor  of  the  world 
mete  out  the  opposite  results  of  sin 
and  goodness,  but  as  natural  conse- 
quences, as  fruit,  they  grow  up  on 
the  good  tree  or  the  evil.  Virtue  is 
paid  in  virtue,  and  vice  in  vice ;  or, 
in  the  words  of  the  Talmudists,  quoted 
by  Tholuck,  "  a  good  action  is  the 
reward  of  a  good  action,  as  a  wicked 
action  is  punished  by  a  second."  As 
has  been  said,  the  universe  is  so  con- 
structed that  nothing  can  hurt  us  but 
ourselves;  sin,  or  its  occasions  and 
temptations  in  our  own  heart  and 
life.  —  The  end  of  those  things  is  death. 
We  need  not  cut  down  the  glowing 
Apostle  to  the  bold  statement  of 
either  physical  or  spiritual  death. 
Not  thus  can  we  interpret  well.     He 


says  these  things  are  deadly,  destruc- 
tive ;  they  plant  diseases  in  the  body, 
they  plant  stings  in  the  conscience, 
and  conjure  up  terrors  in  the  future. 
The  same  remarks  apply  below  to  the 
sentence,  "  The  wages  of  sin  is  death." 
Imagine  the  sinner  a  laborer,  and  the 
wages  he  earns  are  destructive  of  his 
health,  his  happiness,  and  his  hopes. 
For  every  purpose  of  moral  impres- 
sion this  indefiniteness  of  language  is 
better  than  the  most  elaborate  descrip- 
tions of  punishment.  The  results  of 
our  lives  on  earth  are  too  vast  to  be 
gathered  up  into  any  one  form  or 
phrase  of  words,  unless  it  be  some 
such  broad  ones  as  life  and  death.  — 
Fruit  unto  holiness.  Paid  in  kind, 
as  remarked  above. —  Wages  —  gift. 
The  sinner  earns  his  own  fate,  works 
it  out  as  if  it  were  day-wages.  But 
the  service  of  virtue  is  disinterested. 
God  wisely  arranged  it  that  we  may 
love  and  serve  him  for  his  own  glori- 
ous sake,  and  not  for  the  loaves  and 
fishes.  When  we  seek  the  thing,  the 
reward  will  take  care  of  itself  But 
if  we  are  thinking  all  the  time  of  the 
reward,  the  act  will  be  Hkely  to  be 
vitiated  by  self-reference.  Not  hap- 
piness, not  virtue's  reward,  but  virtue, 
is  "  our  being's  end  and  aim."  And 
by  Jesus  and  his  Gospel  has  the  gift 
of  eternal  life  been  communicated, 
and  the  knowledge  and  conditions  of 
it  made  household  words  in  the  whole 
earth. 


VII.] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


135 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

The  Cessation  of  the  Law  on  Account  of  its  Inability  to  meet  all  the  Spiritual  Wants  of 

Man. 

Know  ye  not,  brethren,  (for  I  speak  to  tliem  tliat  know  the  law,) 

how  that  the  law  hath  dominion  over  a  man  as  long  as  he  hveth  ? 

2  For  the  woman  which  hath  a  husband  is  bound  by  the  law  to  her 

husband  so  long  as  he  liveth ;  but  if  the  husband  be  dead,  she  is 


CHAPTER  vn. 

1-6.  The  Apostle  continues  the 
subject  of  a  complete  sanctification, 
or,  in  other  words,  of  a  perfected 
human  being  after  the  model  of 
Jesus.  His  object  in  this  section  is 
to  show  that  every  scrap  and  frag- 
ment of  obhgation  to  the  Law  were 
annihilated.  He  addresses  the  Jews, 
who  Avere  acquainted  with  the  Law, 
and  shows  them  by  a  famihar  illus- 
tration how  entirely  it  had  been 
superseded  by  the  Gospel,  and  how 
perfectly  free  they  were  to  become 
Christians  without  any  longer  con- 
tinuing to  be  Jews.  It  was  a  matter 
requiring  great  delicacy  and  address 
to  maintain  the  Divine  legation  of 
Moses  and  the  original  binding  author- 
ity of  his  institutions,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  lead  the  Jews  onward,  who 
had  been  thus  educated,  and  every 
fibre  of  whose  intellectual  and  moral 
being  was  inwoven  in  the  Law,  and 
to  open  to  their  faith  and  admiration 
the  greater  beauties  and  glories  of 
Christianity.  In  truth,  the  idea  of 
the  progressive  nature  of  all  religion, 
as  well  as  of  life  in  general,  seems  to 
be  one  of  the  hardest  lessons  for  man 
to  learn,  whether  under  the  Jewish  or 
the  Christian  system.  He  becomes 
fossilized  in  ceremonials  and  creeds, 
and  hears  with  reluctance  the  cease- 
less command  of  God's  providence, 
Go  up  higher. 

1.  yl.N-  long  as  he  liveth.  The  word 
he  is  not  in  the  original,  but  is  put  in 
by  the  translators.     The  question  is 


whether  the  personal  pronoun  should 
be  he,  the  man,  or  ?V,  the  Law,  for  the 
Greek  will  admit  of  either  word. 
Commentators  as  usual  are  ranged  on 
opposite  sides  of  the  question,  but  it  is 
more  consonant  to  the  argument.  Paul 
is  made  to  say  the  very  thing  in  the 
Common  Version  which  he  was  try- 
ing to  disprove.  He  wished  to  show 
that  the  Law  was  not  living,  that 
it  was  dead;  that  it  could  have  no 
more  rightful  dominion  over  the  Jews, 
because  it  had  been  superseded  by 
that  more  perfect  form  of  faith  and 
worship  of  which  it  was  the  harbin- 
ger. 

2,  3.  He  proceeds  to  enforce  the 
idea  of  the  abrogation  of  the  Law  in 
general  by  an  instance  of  its  par- 
ticular cessation  in  the  case  of  the 
marriage  contract.  A  woman  is  under 
obligation  to  be  faithful  to  her  hus- 
band so  long  as  he  lives,  but  at  his 
death  she  is  released  from  all  such 
claims,  and  is  at  perfect  Hberty  to 
marry  a  second  husband,  without  the 
charge  of  adultery.  1^  Cor.  vii.  39. 
Thus  final  and  utter  is  the  dissolution 
of  the  Law  of  Moses  by  the  entrance 
of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  The  LaAv 
was  dead,  and  all  indebtedness  to  it 
had  for  ever  ceased.  It  was  a  thing 
of  the  past,  as  much  as  the  obligation 
legally  of  a  woman  to  be  bound  to 
her  husband  after  he  had  died.  In 
regard  to  the  many  questions  how 
St.  Paul's  rhetoric  shall  be  justified, 
and  how  the  several  limbs  of  his  com- 
parison shall  be  matched  with  one 
another,   we    have   nothing    to    say 


136 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


loosed  from  the  law  of  Aer  husband.  So  then  if,  while  her  husband  3 
liveth,  she  be  married  to  another  man,  she  shall  be  called  an  adul- 
teress :  but  if  her  husband  be  dead,  she  is  free  from  that  law ;  so 
that  she  is  no  adulteress,  though  she  be  married  to  another  man. 
'Wherefore,  my  brethren,  ye  also  are  become  dead  to  the  law  by  4 
the  body  of  Christ ;  that  ye  should  be  married  to  another,  even  to 
liim  who  is  raised  from  the  dead,  that  we  should  bring  forth  fruit 
unto  God.     For  when  we  were  in  the  flesh,  the  motions  of  sins,  5 


while  the  main  diift  of  his  remarks 
is  so  apparent.  Thus  Beza  says, 
"  The  old  man  is  the  wife,  sinM  de- 
sire the  husband,  sins  the  children  " ; 
and  Augustine,  that  "  there  are  three ; 
the  soul  is  the  woman,  the  passions 
of  sin  the  husband,  and  the  Law  the 
law  of  the  husband."  Origen,  Chry- 
sostom,  Calvin,  and  others,  "  Men 
are  the  wife,  the  Law  the  former  hus- 
band, Christ  the  new  one."  If  Paul 
were  a  writer  who  carried  out  his 
figures  regularly,  all  such  criticism 
would  be  very  fine  and  useful,  but 
he  is  not ;  and  to  attempt  in  every 
instance  to  set  the  different  parts  in 
order  is  not  only  a  work  of  super- 
erogation, but  of  impossibility.  To 
hunt  needles  in  haymows,  or  to  at- 
tach again  the  strewn  leaves  of  the 
forest  to  the  identical  boughs  from 
which  they  have  fallen,  would  be  as 
easy  and  as  profitable  as  to  pursue 
this  "word-criticism  to  its  niceties, 
with  a  view  of  resting  upon  it  any 
essential  doctrine  or  precept.  The 
Bible  in  general,  and  the  writings  of 
Paul  in  particular,  He,  hke  great  Na- 
ture herself,  vast,  various,  somewhat 
chaotic  and  disjointed,  a  creation  in 
progress,  and  not  a  creation  finished, 
but  everywhere  fuU  of  gleams  of  sur- 
passing beauty,  touches  of  deepest 
feeling,  and  electricities  and  magnet- 
isms and  fires  of  quickest  power. 
The  words  of  Prof  Stuart  are  most 
true,  and  it  would  have  been  well 
if  he  had  always  "  recked  his  own 
rede."    "  Many  a  time  have  I  read 


the  Epistle  to  the  Komans  without 
obtaining  scarcely  a  glimpse  of  it. 
AVlien  I  ask  the  reason  of  this,  I  find 
it  in  neglect  to  look  after  the  general 
object  and  course  of  thought  in  the 
writer.  Special  interpretation  stood 
in  the  way  of  general  views  ;  the  ex- 
planation of  words  hindered  the  dis- 
cerning of  the  course  of  thought." 

4,  5.  Ye  also  are  become  dead  to  the 
law.  Mark  the  courtesy  and  fine 
sense  of  the  Apostle.  Instead  of  say- 
ing the  Law  was  dead,  which  would 
have  carried  out  his  analog}'  in  regu- 
lar order,  he  avoids  shocking  their 
prejudices  by  making  a  bald  tiecla- 
ration  hke  that,  and  adroitly  says,  ye 
are  dead.  This  confusion  of  figures, 
and  also  of  persons,  ye  and  we,  in 
these  verses,  is  common  to  all  lively 
and  copious  writers.  Christ  was  the 
new  husband,  and  union  with  him, 
instead  of  yielding  the  deathhke  re- 
sults of  the  Law,  was  to  bring  forth 
living  and  godlike  fruit.  —  Who  is 
raised  from  the  dead.  A  vital  article 
in  Paul's  creed  was  the  ascended  and 
glorified  Messiah.  The  Apostles  who 
were  personally  acquainted  with  our 
Saviour  call  him  most  frequently  by 
the  simple  name  of  Jesus,  while  Paul, 
who  surveys  his  greatness  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  views  him  as  seated  aloft 
in  the  heavens,  the  conquerer  over 
sin  and  death,  usually  employs  the 
title  of  Lord,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
Christ  our  Lord.  —  Motions  of  sins. 
Better,  as  in  tlie  marginal  reading  of 
the  common  version,  passions.    Paul 


VII.J 


TO   THE  ROIVIANS. 


137 


which  were  by  the  law,  did  work  in  our  members  to  bring  forth 

6  fruit  unto  death.     But  now  we  are  dehvered  from  the  law,  that 
being  dead  wherein  we  were  held ;  that  we  should  serve  in  new- 

7  ness  of  spirit,  and  not  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter.     What  shall  we 


nowhere  commits  the  lapse  of  making 
nature  identical  with  sin,  or  sin  with 
nature.  —  Which  icere  hy  the  law. 
The  passions  were  stirred  up  by  com- 
ing into  contact  Avith  the  Law ;  the 
irresistible  fury  of  desire  against  the 
immovable  rojk  of  the  constitution 
of  things.     James  i.  14,  15. 

6.  That  being  dead.  Just  above  it 
was  ?/(?,  who  are  dead  to  the  Law,  but 
the  idea  once  being  broached,  and 
the  oifence  of  its  first  blush  being 
taken  away,  he  now  says  directly,  by 
a  change  of  person,  that  the  Law  is 
dead,  while  the  ?/e,  which  was  dead 
above,  is  now  alive  to  Christ  as  the 
new  Master.  It  is  proper  to  say, 
however,  that  both  Griesbach  and 
Tischendorf  edit  as  follows,  keeping 
up  the  figure  as  in  ver.  4  :  "  But  now, 
being  dead,  we  are  delivered  from 
the  Law,  wherein  we  were  held."  — 
In  newness  of  spirit.,  &c.  2  Cor.  iii.  6, 
7.  This  is  a  Hebraism,  Avhich,  prop- 
erly rendered  into  English,  would 
read,  that  we  should  serve  the  new 
spirit,  and  not  the  old  letter.  Reve- 
lation, like  the  rest  of  the  creation,  is 
progressive ;  the  Law  came  by  Moses, 
grace  and  truth  by  Jesus  Christ. 
The  Gospel  too  has  its  earlier  and 
later  ages,  its  morning  daybreak  and 
its  noonday  glory.  It  therefore  be- 
comes the  duty  of  man  to  follow  the 
leadings  of  the  Divine  hand,  and  to 
move  onward  with  the  moving  uni- 
verse. He  must  live  up  to  the  spirit 
of  his  age,  and  have  full  confidence 
that  there  is  yet  new  light  to  break 
out  of  the  word  of  God.  The  more 
wisdom  and  love  we  carry  to  the 
revelation,  the  more  wisdom  and 
love  we  find  there ;  and  the  more 
fiithfuUy  we  act  up  to  our  present 
light,  the  more  clearly  does  the  future 
12  * 


shine  upon  us.  The  human  soul  is 
a  germ,  destined  to  an  everlasting 
growth  in  wisdom  and  goodness  ;  and 
it  is  not  the  province  of  any  being 
except  Omnipotence  to  say.  Thus 
far  shalt  thou  go  and  no  farther.  Dr. 
Arnold  has  well  said,  "  There  is 
nothing  so  revolutionary,  because 
there  is  nodiing  so  unnatural  and  so 
convulsive  to  society,  as  the  strain  to 
keep  things  fixed  when  all  the  world 
is  by  the  very  laws  of  its  creation  in 
eternal  progress ;  and  the  cause  of 
all  the  evils  of  the  world  may  be 
traced  to  that  natural,  but  most  dead- 
ly, error  of  human  indolence  and  cor- 
ruption, that  our  business  is  to  pre- 
serve, and  not  improve.  It  is  the 
ruin  of  us  all  alike,  individuals, 
schools,  and  nations." 

7-25.  This  passage  discourses  one 
subject,  the  inability  of  the  Law  to 
meet  the  spiritual  wants  of  human 
nature  throughout.  If  the  law  were 
dead,  as  he  had  proved  it  was,  a 
Jewish  objector  would  ask,  Why  is 
it  dead  ?  Is  the  Law  sin  ?  Is  the 
Law  bad  ?  How  can  it  be,  if  it  was 
given  by  God  ?  Paul  replies  at 
length  in  this  section,  showing  where- 
in the  Law  succeeded,  and  wherein  it 
failed,  and  what  would  avail  to  an- 
swer the  whole  demand  of  the  soul. 
This  is  strictly  in  accordance  with 
the  general  object  of  the  Epistle  to  de- 
monstrate the  value  of  faith-righteous- 
ness, and  its  superiority  to  the  philo- 
sophical righteousness  of  the  Greeks, 
or  the  legal  nghteousness  of  the  He- 
brews. 

The  form  in  which  tliis  discussion 
is  carried  on  is  by  personification 
and  dramatic  interchange  of  charac- 
ters. The  Law  is  one  person,  Sin  is 
another,  the  /,  the  essential  man,  is 


138 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


say  then  ?     Is  the  law  sin  ?     God  forbid.     Nay,  I  had  not  known 
sin,  but  by  the  law :  for  I  had  not  known  lust,  except  the  law  had 
said.  Thou  shalt  not  covet.     But  sin,  taking  occasion  by  the  com-  s 
mandment,   wrought   in  me  all  manner  of  concupiscence.      For 


another.  By  this  means  the  consid- 
eration of  an  abstract  theological 
topic  is  made  vivacious  and  intelli- 
gible, and  impressed  on  the  memory 
and  imagination  as  it  could  not  be 
done  by  mere  abstruse  language. 

But  in  the  interpretation  of  this 
chapter,  we  find  among  the  critics 
the  same  tendency  before  referred 
to  under  ver.  2,  3,  of  pressing  par- 
ticulars too  far,  and  not  looking 
clearly  enough  at  the  general  pur- 
pose. The  Scriptures  must  no  more 
be  cut  to  the  quick  in  criticism  than 
any  other  book  of  history,  poetry, 
or  morals.  Ne  quid  nbnis^  there  may 
be  too  much  of  a  good  thing,  is  a 
feeling  not  infrequent  in  reading  re- 
Hgious  Hterature. 

7.  The  Apostle  queries  as  if  with 
an  objector,  respecting  the  mission  of 
the  Law,  Is  the  Law  sin,  because  it  is 
now  obsolete,  and  has  no  more  any 
rightful  dominion  over  men  ?  By 
no  means.  So  far  from  being  bad 
itself,  the  very  spirit  of  the  Law  is  to 
reveal  what  is  evil ;  it  is  the  spear  of 
Ithuriel  whose  touch  is  to  disclose 
the  horns  and  cloven  foot;  it  is  a 
moral  judgment-seat.  It  was  the 
mission  of  the  Law  specially  to  give 
activity  to  the  conscience,  and  thus 
bring  sin  to  light,  as  it  was  of  the 
Hebrew  ritual  to  cultivate  veneration, 
and  is  of  the  Gospel  to  quicken  love 
and  benevolence.  The  Law  was  good 
as  far  as  it  went,  but  it  could  not  ac- 
complish every  thing.  Jesus  came 
not  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil  it,  to  carry 
forward  its  plan  to  an  entire  com- 
pletion. —  Thou  shall  not  covet.  Exod. 
XX.  17.  It  has  been  suggested  that 
this  quotation  is  made  after  the  He- 
brew manner,  only  the  beginning 
being  given,  but  that  the  whole  tenth 


commandment  is  intended  by  it. — 
The  courtesy  of  the  Apostle  is  again 
manifest  in  his  saying  /,  instead 
of  you,  and  thus  appropriating  what- 
ever might  be  obnoxious  in  his  com- 
parison, to  himself 

8.  But  sin,  taking  occasion,  &c., 
strengthened  by  the  consciousness 
which  the  Law  itself  gave  of  the  guilt 
of  sin.  Sin  is  impersonated  through- 
out this  chapter,  and  is  represented 
as  lying  in  wait,  like  an  artful  enemy, 
for  its  victims.  It  is  the  body  of  sin 
lying  back,  which,  instigated  by  the 
prohibition  of  the  Law,  results  in 
the  particular  lust  or  concupiscence. 
And  without  the  Law  there  would  be 
no  sin,  i.  e.  the  consciousness  of  sin 
would  not  be  created ;  mankind  would 
do  the  same  wicked  acts,  but  they 
would  not  be  aware,  at  least  in  so 
high  a  degree,  how  wicked  they  were. 
The  absolute  violation  of  a  law  is  as 
great  in  the  case  of  an  ignorant  as 
of  an  intentional  agent,  but  the  dif- 
ference as  to  relative  guiltiness  in  the 
two  cases  is  world-wide.  In  one  case, 
man  sins  with  his  eyes  wide  open, 
and  in  the  other  with  them  shut,  or 
blinded.  —  All  manner,  &c.  There 
is  no  end  to  the  multiplex  forms 
which  the  seminal  principle  of  moral 
evil  will  take  on,  when  it  is  warmed 
into  life  and  is  exasperated  by  the 
opposition  and  revelation  of  the  pro- 
hibitory law.  The  language  of  Paul 
is  of  course  highly  figurative  and 
panoramic,  giving  in  large  and  high- 
colored  outhnes  the  battle,  which  is 
carried  on  in  the  breast  of  man,  in 
miniature.  All  attempts  likewise  to 
settle  the  inquiry  how  far  the  Apostle 
is  speaking  in  his  own  person,  and 
how  far  in  that  of  another  man ;  or 
how  far  he  personates  himself  in  his 


vn.] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


139 


9  without  the  law  sin  was  dead.     For  I  was  alive  without  the  law 
once  :  but  when  the  commandment  came,  sin  revived,  and  1  died. 

10  And  the  commandment,  which  was  ordained  to  life,  I  found  to  he 

11  unto  death.     For  sin,  taking  occasion  by  the  commandment,  de- 
1-2  ceived   me,  and  by  it  slew  me.      Wherefore    the  law   is   holy, 


unregenerate,  and  how  far  in  his  re- 
generate state ;  or  whether  he  assumes 
at  different  stages  of  his  argument  both 
characters, —  overstrain  the  point,  and 
make  a  stitf  interpretation.  The  Apos- 
tle evidently  wrote  in  the  spirit 
of  a  glowing  enthusiasm,  without  al- 
ways stopping  to  measure  the  exact 
force  of  his  words,  or  indicating  the 
precise  points  of  transition  in  his  dis- 
course. In  general  we  may  say,  this 
is  a  picture  of  human  nature,  in  three 
conditions  :  first,  before  the  Law  was 
made  known,  in  which  the  sense  of 
good  and  ill  was  blunt ;  secondly, 
after  the  promulgation  of  the  Law, 
when  the  conflict  began  of  its  prohi- 
bitions with  the  aroused  propensities 
to  sin,  the  grapple  between  the  inte- 
rior /and  the  circumstantial  me ;  and 
thirdly,  the  Christian  experience, 
where  the  faith  of  Jesus  has  been 
strong  enough  to  give  the  preponder- 
ance to  the  good  principles,  and  dis- 
comfit the  bad  ones,  and  the  restless 
heart  of  man  finds  rest  in  truth  and 
love. 

9.  This  verse  describes  the  process 
from  the  state  of  careless,  unobserv- 
ant nature,  where  man  feels  compar- 
atively contented  with  his  sins,  be- 
cause he  is  not  aware  of  their  hei- 
nousness,  to  the  legal  condition,  in 
which  the  prohibitions  of  the  Law  set 
his  offences  in  order  before  him,  and 
thunder  in  the  startled  ear  of  con- 
science the  penalties  of  disobedience. 
At  this  threatening  aspect  of  the  spir- 
itual state,  the  heart  of  man  dies 
within  him.  His  hope  and  his  cour- 
age fail,  because  he  sees  the  yawning 
chasm  between  the  just  requirements 
of  God  on  one  side,  and  his  own 


short-comings  on  the  other.  Olshau- 
sen  remarks  :  "  As  a  rapidly  flowing 
stream  rolls  calmly  on,  so  long  as  no 
object  checks  it,  but  foams  and  roars 
as  soon  as  any  hinderance  stops  it, 
just  as  calmly  does  the  sinful  element 
hold  its  course  through  the  man,  so 
long  as  he  does  not  stem  it ;  but  if  he 
would  realize  the  Divine  command- 
ment, he  begins  to  feel  the  force  of 
the  element,  of  whose  dominion  he 
had  as  yet  no  boding." 

10,  11.  As  sin  was  the  general 
fountain,  of  which  lust  or  concupis- 
cence was  one  of  the  issues,  so  the 
Law  was  the  general  authority,  of 
which  the  commandment  is  repre- 
sented as  a  special  provision  or  in- 
junction. The  object  of  the  com- 
mandment indeed  was  to  produce 
spiritual  life  and  happiness,  but  the 
knowledge  of  the  nature  and  enor- 
mity of  sin,  which  was  made  known 
by  the  Law,  rendered  the  particular 
sin  of  which  I  was  guilty  more  aggra- 
vated and  deadly  than  it  would  have 
been,  if  I  did  the  same  thing  without 
the  knowledge  which  the  law  gives. 
Lev.  xviii.  5  ;  Luke  x.  28.  Thus  Ne- 
ander  writes  :  "  The  deception  wliich 
was  practised  by  the  power  of  the 
hitherto  slumbering,  but  now  ram- 
pant, sinful  desires,  consisted  in  this, 
that  when  the  Law  in  its  glory,  the 
moral  archetype,  first  revealed  itself 
to  the  higher  nature  of  man,  he  was 
filled  with  earnest  desire  to  seize  the 
revealed  ideal;  but  this  desire  only 
made  him  more  painfully  sensible  of 
the  chasm  which  separated  him  from 
the  object  after  which  he  aspired. 
Thus,  what  appeared  at  first  a  bliss- 
ful ideal,  by  the  guilt  of  death-pro- 


140 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Ci 


and  the  commandment  lioly,  and  just,  and  good.     Was  then  that  ]3 
which  is  good  made  death  unto  me  ?     God  forbid.     But  sin,  that  it 
might  appear  sin,  working  death  in  me  by  that  which  is  good  ;  that 
sin  by  the  commandment  might  become  exceeding  sinful.     For  we  u 


ducing  sin  became  changed  into  its 
opposite." 

12.  The  law  is  Jwhj,  &c.  The 
Apostle  was  sailing  between  Scylla 
and  Charvbdis,  for  on  one  hand  he 
had  to  show  the  superiority  of  the 
neAv  way  of  salvation  to  the  old  one, 
and  at  the  same  time,  on  the  other,  to 
avoid  so  far  shocking  the  prejudices 
of  the  Jews  as  to  turn  them  away  in 
disgust  from  his  argument,  or  to  do 
violence  to  his  own  hallowed  associa- 
tions of  an  early  religious  education. 
He  here  reiterates  his  eulogy  of  the 
Jewish  Law.  Not  because  he  loved 
Judaism  less,  but  because  he  loved 
Christianity  more,  he  had  become 
an  apostle  and  advocate  of  the  Gos- 
pel to  all  nations.  We  see  in  this 
verse  the  easy,  impulsive  movement 
of  a  noble  nature,  intent  upon  its 
purpose,  but  just  to  what  was  past, 
and  honoring  the  rudimentary  school 
of  the  Law  and  the  Prophets.  He 
says  both  the  general  law  and  the 
special  commandment  were  praise- 
worthy, and  he  lavishes  upon  them 
terms  of  respect.  * 

13.  But  if  the  Law  and  command- 
ment were  thus  excellent,  how  could 
they  work  so  ill  and  deadly  an  eflect 
upon  human  consciousness  and  char- 
acter ?  Did  they  change  their  nature 
so  that  good  had  the  effect  of  evil, 
and  sweet  tasted  like  bitter  ?  Far 
from  it.  It  was  sin  that  was  detected, 
not  the  Law  that  was  perverted.  Just 
as  letters  written  in  lemon-juice  ap- 
pear when  brought  to  the  fire,  though 
they  were  before  invisible,  so  did  the 
dcathlilvc  character  of  sin  manifest 
itself  when  touched  by  the  criterion 
of  the  Law.  What  in' the  twilight  of 
natural  conscience  appeared  as  sin, 
became  doubly  malignant  in  the  clear 


daj^light  of  the  Law.  The  Law  did 
great  good  as  far  as  its  sphere  ex- 
tended, but  it  never  was  designed  to 
" come  full  circle"  in  the  Divine  plan. 
It  was  a  preliminary  education,  an 
infant  school  of  religion  for  the 
world.  The  Divine  ordinance  was  to 
"  erect  amongst  the  people  of  Israel 
a  hearth  and  an  altar  for  God,  from 
which  as  a  centre  the  sacred  fire 
might  then  be  more  easily  spread  over 
the  whole  earth."  1  Tim.  i.  8. — God 
forbid.  But  sin,  &c.  By  pointing 
tliis  clause  differently,  according  to 
Griesbach  and  Tischendorf,  a  much 
clearer  sense  is  given,  and  an  answer 
is  made  to  the  preceding  question, 
thus :  Was  then  that  which  is  good 
made  death  unto  me  ?  God  forbid  ; 
but  sin  ;  that  is  to  say,  sin  was  made 
death  unto  me ;  that  it  might  appear 
sin,  might  appear  in  its  true  colors, 
working  death  in  me  by  that  which 
is  good,  that  is,  by  the  Law,  that  in 
tliis  way,  by  the  detection  of  the  LaAv, 
sin  might  be  revealed  in  its  real  char- 
acter as  exceedingly  sinful.  Rom.  v. 
20.  Thus  we  detect  "  in  the  symp- 
toms of  a  positive  disease  the  mor- 
bific matter  which  has  been  for  a  long- 
time lurking  in  the  system." 

14.  There  is  no  complaint  there- 
fore to  be  made  of  the  Law ;  ■  its  ten- 
dency is  spiritual  as  far  as  it  goes ; 
but  it  does  not  go  far  enough,  and, 
while  it  brings  to  light  the  venomous 
nature  of  sin,  provide  a  cure  for  its 
fatal  poison.  What  is  to  be  com- 
plained of  is  sin,  our  second  evU 
selves,  for  "  it  is  the  royal  privilege 
of  good  that  from  all  e\i\  it  knoAvs 
how  to  educe  good,  as  it  is  the  cui-se 
of  evil  that  it  perverts  to  evil  all  that 
is  good."  —  /  am  carnal,  &c.  There 
has  been  much  ink  wasted  by  the 


VII.] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


141 


know  that  the  law  is  spiritual :    but  I  am  carnal,  sold  under  sin. 

15  For  that  which  I  do,  I  allow  not :  for  what  I  would,  that  do  I  not ; 

16  but  what  I  hate,  that  do  I.     If  then  I  do  that  which  I  would  not,  I 

17  consent  unto  the  law  that  it  is  good.    Now  then  it  is  no  more  I  that 


critics  to  decide  how  far  St.  Paul  is 
giving  his  own  individual  experi- 
ences, and  how  far  he  speaks  for 
human  nature  at  large.  Perhaps  we 
may  more  truly  sav,  that  he  sweeps 
both  the  general  and  the  personal 
into  the  full  torrent  of  his  speech, 
and,  with  his  quick-glancing  mind, 
appropriates  to  his  argument  all  that 
was  truest  of  men  in  the  plural,  while 
he  dissected  man  in  the  singular,  and 
demonstrated  the  morbid  anatomy  of 
sin  as  a  disease  of  human  nature.  — 
Sold  under  sin.  Enslaved,  bound  as  a 
slave  to  the  master  who  has  bought 
him.  In  the  use  of  the  /instead  of  we, 
we  perceive  the  delicacy  with  which 
Paul  identifies  the  evil  with  himself 
rather  than  with  his  countrymen. 

15  -  20.  The  colHsion  between  the 
sense  of  duty  and  sensual  desire,  be- 
tween the  higher  and  the  lower  na- 
ture, between  the  law  of  the  mind 
and  the  law  of  the  members,  the 
essential  interior  I  and  the  circum 
ferential  me,  is  here  drawn  out  at  full 
length.  It  is  a  portrait,  a  daguerreo- 
t}^e  of  what  is  going  on  down  deep 
in  the  bosom,  of  the  game  of  life 
which  every  man  is  playing  for  his 
soul.  The  Apostle  painted  on  a  great 
scale  what  is  true  of  the  humblest  or 
the  youngest  of  the  human  family, 
the  ceaseless  struggles  between  appe- 
tite and  reason,  passion  and  con- 
science, the  superficial  desires  and 
the  innate  moral  forces.     Gal.  v.  1 7. 

15.  I  allow  not.  Literally,  I  know 
not;  i.  e.  I  am  perplexed  to  under- 
stand it ;  I  know  not  how  it  is  that  I 
should  act  so  inconsistently,  as  not  to 
do  what  I  would,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, to  do  the  very  thing  I  hate. 
This  is  a  puzzle.  The  present  ren- 
dering of  the  common  Enghsh  ver- 


sion mystifies  the  sense  completely  by 
seeming  to  repeat  the  same  foi-mula 
twice  in  the  same  verse ;  but  the 
above  rendering  relieves  the  diffi- 
culty entirely.  Tholuck  remarks  here 
that  hitherto  the  Apostle  had  "  con- 
trasted himself  in  respect  of  his  whole 
being  with  the  Divine  law ;  now,  how- 
ever, he  begins  to  describe  a  discord 
which  exists  within  himself  We  set 
out  with  the  fact  that  the  Apostle 
still  supposes  an  original  element  in 
man  cognate  with  the  Divine  Being. 
This  is  the  rehgious  and  moral  sense 
which  can  never  be  wholly  eradicated 
in  man  without  his  thereby  ceasing 
to  be  man.  Even  the  individual  who 
sinks  very  low  never  entirely  loses 
the  consciousness  that  that  divine 
element  constitutes  his  proper  self, 
and  that  to  it  all  the  rest  must  be- 
come homogeneous ;  in  fact,  that  it  is 
the  Divine  seed  in  him,  which  is 
choked  indeed,  but  no  more.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  Apostle  represents  the 
sin,  or  flesh,  as  something  foreign  to 
man,  and  the  godly  element  as  his 
proper  I.  Ver.  1 7,  20.  Hence  also 
does  he  call  that  element  the  inward 
man,  the  true  core  of  man."  Ver.  22. 

16,  17.  Though  I  do  what  is  wick- 
ed, yet  if  I  do  it  against  my  better 
convictions  on  account  of  the  urgency 
of  temptation,  I  virtually  approve  of 
the  law  as  excellent,  notwithstanding 
my  inconsistent  conduct,  because  in 
my  heart  of  hearts  I  reverence  its 
sanctity.  I  will  therefore  divide  my 
personality,  and  say  it  is  no  more  I 
proper  who  do  the  evil  deed,  but  in- 
dwelling sin,  an  unlawful  settler  upon 
my  premises,  a  tenant,  whose  behavior 
I  do  not  like,  and  whom  I  should  be 
glad  to  evict  from  ray  property. 

18-20.     This  is  mostly  an  amph- 


142 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


do  it,  but  sin  that  dwelleth  in  me.  For  I  know  that  in  me,  that  is,  is 
in  my  flesh,  dwelleth  no  good  thing :  for  to  will  is  present  ^vith  me  ; 
but  hoio  to  perform  that  which  is  good  I  find  not.  For  the  good  19 
that  I  would,  I  do  not :  but  the  evil  which  I  would  not,  that  I  do. 
Now  if  I  do  that  I  would  not,  it  is  no  more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin  that  20 
dwelleth  in  me.  I  find  then  a  law,  that,  when  I  would  do  good,  evil  21 
is  present  with  me.  For  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God  after  the  22 
inward  man :  but  I  see  another  law  in  my  members,  warring  23 
against  the  law  of  my  mind,  and  bringing  me  into  captivity  to  the 


fication,  after  the  usual  copious  man- 
ner of  the  Apostle,  of  what  he  had 
said  before.  No  stronger  testimony 
against  the  innate  total  depravity  of 
niankind  can  be  adduced  than  that 
of  Paul,  the  very  teacher  who  is  gen- 
erally supposed  to  teach  this  and  the 
other  Augustinian  and  Calvinistic 
doctrines  in  the  most  decisive  man- 
ner. If  language  has  any  meaning, 
sin  in  the  soul  is  not  predicated  by 
him  as  any  more  inborn  or  natural, 
than  disease  in  the  body,  or  as  con- 
stituting the  inmost  self  and  usurping 
the  central  seat  of  personality,  but  as 
an  excrescence,  a  laAv  of  the  outward 
members,  not  of  the  mind,  the  inner 
and  immortal  selfhood. 

This  coUision  of  the  higher  and 
lower  powers  of  man  is  known  to 
proflnie  as  well  as  sacred  literature. 
Tholuck  quotes  richly  to  tliis  effect. 
Thus  Thucydides  says :  "  It  is  an  im- 
possibility, and  shows  great  simplicity 
for  any  one  to  think  that,  when  human 
nature  is  driven  eagerly  to  the  com- 
mission of  any  act,  it  can  be  hindered 
either  by  the  force  of  laws  or  any- 
thing however  formidable."  And 
Xenophon  has  this  passage  from  a 
Persian :  "  For  I  have  manifestly  two 
spirits.  For  a  spirit  that  is  one  and 
single  is  not  both  bad  and  good  at 
once,  nor  at  once  loves  things  virtu- 
ous and  things  vicious,  and  at  once  is 
willing  and  unwilling  to  do  them. 
-But  it  is  clear  that  there  are  two 


spirits,  and  that  when  the  good 
prevails,  the  virtuous  things  are  done, 
and  when  the  bad,  then  are  wrong 
things  attempted."  Diodorus,  Euripi- 
des, Epictetus,  Simplicius,  Plautus, 
Seneca,  Lactantius,  and  the  Jewish 
Kabbins,  are  quoted  to  the  same  ef- 
fect. Ovid  writes :  "  Desire  prompts 
one  thing,  my  mind  persuades  me  to 
another.  I  see  and  approve  the  bet- 
ter, but  follow  the  worse."  Even  the 
Christian  is  not  exempt,  so  long  as  he 
lives,  from  temptation,  but  has  to  pray 
like  Paul  that  he  may  not  be  a  cast- 
aAvay  ;  or,  having  some  thorn  in  the 
flesh  of  which  he  cannot  be  rid,  that 
the  grace  of  Christ  may  be  suflicient 
for  him.  2  Cor.  xii.  7  -  9 ;  Phil.  iii. 
12,  13. 

21  -  23.  He  sums  up  the  evidence. 
There  is  this  contrariety  in  human 
nature,  so  steady  and  uniform  that 
he  calls  it  a  law,  that  when  our  better 
nature  wills  what  is  good,  our  lower 
propensities  do  what  is  evil.  The 
interior  and  essential  self  does  not 
cease  to  reverence  and  enjoy  the 
moral  ideal  of  love,  beauty,  and  truth, 
the  law  of  right;  but  the  appetites 
are  grovelling,  and  the  passions  are 
headlong,  and  they  carry  the  soul 
captive  in  self-indulgence  and  pleas- 
ure. —  Bringing  me  into  captivity. 
The  literal  sense  is,  taking  me  pris- 
oner of  war.  The  psychology  of 
Paul,  and  his  doctrine  of  the  inner 
and  outer  man,~  the  law  of  the  mind 


VII.l 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


143 


24  law  of  sin  which  is  in  my  members.    O  wretched  man  that  I  am ! 

25  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ?     I  thank  God 


and  the  law  of  the  members,  corre- 
spouds  with  many  of  the  views  of  the 
old  moralists  and  philosophers,  as 
Plato.  Plotinus,  Pliilo,  and  Plautus. 
All  tlirough  this  passage  the  object 
!  of  the  Apostle  seems  to  be  to  ilhis- 
I  trate,  by  a  detailed  picture  of  the 
I  working  of  human  nature,  the  in- 
i  ability  of  the  LaAv  to  achieve  the 
i  complete  redemption  of  man  from 
I  moral  evil.  The  mere  declaration  of 
the  Avickcdness  of  sin,  and  its  pro- 
hibition, cannot  keep  mankind  from 
sinning ;  but  they  must  be  addressed 
by  more  powerful  motives.  Law,  as 
a  restraint,  is  good,  but  higher  motives 
must  arouse  the  soul  to  positive  good, 
as  the  best  bulwark  and  safeguard 
against  evil.  Faith  must  sunmion 
into  the  field  the  powers  of  the  world 
to  come.  Let  in  the  light  of  heaven, 
and  the  darkness  of  earth  will  flee 
away.  The  whole  philosophy  of 
moral  action  is  contained  in  another 
precept  of  the  Apostle  :  Overcome 
evil  with  good.  Good  is  the  only 
sufficient  antidote  in  the  universe  to 
evil.  But  by  the  expulsive  power 
of  a  new  affection  all  the  forces  of 
sin  may  be  put  to  rout.  Faith,  hope, 
and  charity,  these  three  give  us  the 
victory  over  "  the  world,  the  flesh, 
and  the  Devil." 

24.  Wound  up  to  desperation  by 
the  conflict  between  different  powers 
of  his  own  nature,  the  civil  war  in  his 
breast,  he  exclaims,  Who  can  deliver 
me  from  the  body  of  this  death !  or,  as 
is  variously  rendered,  "  the  body  of 
such  ruin,"  or,  "  the  body  of  this 
misery,"  or  from  the  sensual  power, 
which  causes  me  suffering  and  death. 
Misery  and  death  are  used  as  syno- 
nymcs,  as  well  as  life  and  happiness. 
The  idea  may  be,  also,  that  it  Avas 
better  to  die  than  to  live  in  such  a 
strife  with  one's  self,  and  tormented 
with  remorse  for  evil  done,  and  as- 


pirations for  good  left  undone.  The 
margin  reads,  this  hody  of  death. 
2  Cor.  V.  4,  8. 

25.  The  common  view  is,  that  hith- 
erto Paul  had  been  speaking  as  an 
unconverted  Jew,  but  that  he  now 
resumes  his  own  address,  and  gives 
thanks  for  his  own  personal  redemp- 
tion. That  idea  is  not  natural.  Paul 
had  been  through  all  these  experi- 
ences on  both  sides  of  the  question. 
He  sketches  them  off  in  bold  outlines, 
not  stojjping  to  say  how  much  ap- 
plied in  each  instance  to  himself,  and 
how  much  Avas  appropriated  from  the 
example  of  others.  1  Cor.  xv.  57. 
—  I  thank  God,  &c.  As  much  as  to 
sa}',  Jesus  Christ  delivers  me  from 
this  wretchedness  and  moral  death. 
This  was  the  logical  conclusion  of  the 
whole  chapter.  Jesus  could  do  what 
the  Law  could  not  accomplish,  —  put 
an  end  to  the  internal  insurrection. 
But  in  exalting  Christianity  to  the 
first  place,  we  must  remember  that 
the  Law  occupies  the  second  place, 
and  that  it  was  a  good  schoolmaster 
to  bring  men  to  Christ.  The  chief 
scope  of  the  Law  was  conscience  ;  the 
Gospel  came  to  include  in  its  ample 
culture  the  heart,  with  all  its  bound- 
less affections  and  aspirations.  The 
last  clause  is  but  an  enumeration  of 
what  had  been  expressed  before. 

There  are  three  principal  forces, 
or  creators  of  character,  which  at  dif- 
ferent periods  have  engaged  the  at- 
tention of  mankind.  They  are  all 
good,  and  there  is  need  of  them  all 
to  keep  the  whole  man  sound  and 
morally  healthy  and  growing ;  but  the 
error  has  been,  that  too  exclusive 
devotion  has  been  given  to  one,  and 
the  others  have  been  neglected. 
These  three  are,  Wisdom,  which  an- 
swers to  the  mind;  Law,  which  re- 
fers to  the  conscience ;  and  Faith, 
wliich   appeals   to   the   heart.      The 


144 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  So  then  with  the  mind  I  myself 
serve  the  law  of  God ;  but  with  the  flesh  the  law  of  sin. 

CHAPTER  Vin. 

The  Adaptation  of  the  Gospel  to  all  the  Offices  of  a  Perfect  Religion  for  the  Human  Soul. 

There  is  therefore  now  no  condemnation  to  them  which  are  in 
Christ  Jesus,  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit. 
For  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath  made  me  free  2 


three  most  eminent  civilizations,  or 
refinements  of  human  society,  have 
been  based  upon  these  three  ideas : 
the  Grecian  upon  Wisdom,  the  He- 
brew upon  Law,  and  the  Christian 
upon  Faith ;  but  the  greatest  of  these 
is  Faith.     ' 

CHAPTER  Vin. 

The  Apostle  naturally  turns  from 
the  deficiencies  of  the  Law,  and  the 
inefiectual  struggles  of  its  subjects,  to 
the  satisfactions  of  Christian  faith. 
This  chapter  is  concerned  with  the 
capacity  of  the  Gospel  to  perform 
all  the  functions  of  a  perfect  rehgion 
for  human  nature,  and  thus  to  justify 
itself  as  the  legitimate  successor  and 
substitute  of  the  preliminary  dispen- 
sation. All  the  points  of  its  adapta- 
tion are  touched  upon ;  its  freedom, 
its  spirituality,  its  peace,  its  life,  its 
filial  spirit,  its  hope,  its  patience,  its 
prayerfulness,  and  its  love.  Few 
passages  can  be  found  in  the  Scrip- 
tures which  in  the  same  compass 
contain  a  more  full  and  glowing 
portraiture  of  all  the  excellences, 
beauties,  and  glories  of  the  rehgion 
of  Jesus,  and  none  in  any  hterature 
more  eloquent  in  expression,  or  more 
glowing  with  wisdom,  truth,  and  love. 

The  commentators  divide  the  chap- 
ter into  several  sections,  according  to 
their  various  theories  and  views  of 
the  Apostle's  aim  and  reasoning,  but 
scarcely  any  two  agree  together.  In- 
deed, it  is  evident  that  Paul  did  not 
lay  out  his  discourse  with  formal  ar- 
ranorements  like  modern  divines,  but 


commingled  logic  and  rhetoric  to- 
gether, made  sudden  and  abrupt 
transitions,  frequent  parentheses,  and 
gave,  perhaps,  within  the  limits  of  a 
single  chapter,  specimens  of  half  a 
dozen  different  styles  and  modes  of 
argument,  appeal,  remonstrance,  and 
illustration.  There  is  no  writer  whose 
composition  is  so  compacted  and  dove- 
tailed together  as  that  of  the  Apostle 
Paul.  His  style  has  "  the  universal 
joint,"  of  which  mechanics  speak,  and 
while  it  moves  in  every  direction,  it 
holds  firmly  to  its  purpose. 

1.  There  is  therefore  now  no  con- 
demnation, &c.  As  an  inference  from 
the  foregoing  chapter,  he  draws  the 
conclusion,  that  now,  under  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  there  is  no  condemnation 
of  the  Law  against  those  who  have 
abandoned  it  and  become  disciples 
of  Christ.  Their  new  loyahy  releases 
them  from  their  old  duty.  As  Jesus 
said  to  Nicodemus,  '•  he  that  behev- 
eth  on  him  is  not  condemned."  Con- 
demnation is  a  legal  term,  and  as  the 
Law  is  dead,  its  subjects  are  free.  The 
last  clause  of  the  verse,  w?io  icalk  not 
after  the  flesh,  hut  after  the  Spirit,  is 
rejected  from  the  text,  as  of  insuffi- 
cient authority,  by  Griesbach,  Tis- 
chendorf,  De  Wette,  and  many  other 
critics  and  editors.  It  was  probably 
interpolated  as  an  explanation  of  the 
phrase  in  Christ  Jesus,  from  ver.  4, 
first  into  the  margin,  and  then  into 
the  text,  until  it  was  generally  re- 
ceived ;  but  it  is  not  in  the  best  ver-  ■ 
sions  and  manuscripts.  , 

2.  The  spiritual  laws  of  the  Chris-  i 


vni.] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


145 


3  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death.     For  what  the  law  could  not  do,  in 
that  it  was  weak  through  the  tlesh,  God  sendini^  liis  own  Son  in 


tian  faith  had  not  only  released  men 
from  the  bondage  of  tlie  Mosaic  in- 
stitutions, but  they  had  also  emanci- 
pated the  believing  soul  from  the 
more  terrible  laws  of  moral  trans- 
gression and  death.  E,om.  vii.  25. 
The  main  stress  of  the  Apostle's  dis- 
course is  to  show  that  the  Gospel  is 
good,  not  so  much  to  accjuit  its  re- 
ceivers and  justify  them,  as  to  spir- 
itualize them  and  raise  them  out  of 
the  bondage  of  the  aj)petites  and  pas- 
sions. Righteousness  and  hoHness  are 
the  great  ends  of  religion,  not  justifi- 
cation ;  not  how  we  stand  with  God, 
but  how  we  are  in  character  and  hfe 
before  him.  It  is  astonishing  how  much 
error  is  produced  by  a  slight  displace- 
ment of  terms,  or  a  small  change  of 
definitions,  as  a  single  rivet  loose  in  a 
machine  will  throw  the  whole  into 
utter  disorder.  The  current  ortho- 
dox system  has  fastened  upon  the 
Church  a  legality  of  Christianity  as 
hard  and  bony  every  whit  as  the 
legahty  of  Judaism.  It  is  stih.  Thou 
shalt  believe,  or  die ;  as  it  was  before, 
Thou  shalt  do,  or  die.  It  pays  the 
debts  of  the  sinner  as  punctually  and 
fuUy  by  the  sufferings  and  merits  of 
Christ,  as  the  Law  before  required  it 
t(j  be  done  by  the  obedience  of  the 
devotee.  Instead  of  freedom,  spirit- 
ual motives,  culture,  growth,  hope, 
patience,  and  love,  we  hear  from  the 
Church  the  termagant  tones  of  de- 
nunciation, threatenings  of  hell-fire, 
dogmatic  and  compulsory  belief,  ex- 
ckisive  communion,  and  severe  judg- 
ment. The  Church  has  come  out  of 
the  legalities  of  the  Old  Testament 
only  to  enter  into  a  new  set  of  legal- 
ities, erroneously  predicated  upon  the 
Xew,  and  under  Catholicism  to  be 
subjected  to  the  law  of  ceremonies 
aud  dignities,  and  under  Calvinism 
to  the  law  of  creeds  and  dogmas. 
The  Christianity  of  the  Church  is 
13 


still  Law,  not  Love.  —  The  printing 
of  the  word  Sjjirit  with  a  capital 
is  an  error,  because  it  is  intended 
to  carry,  and  does  carry,  the  im- 
pression, that  by  it  is  meant  the 
Holy  Spirit,  or  the  third  person  of 
the  Trinity;  whereas  there  is  noth- 
ing throughout  the  whole  chapter  to 
justify  such  an  idea.  The  spirit  here 
spoken  of  is  the  spirit  of  man,  the  soul, 
the  law  of  the  mind,  chap.  vii.  23,  the 
higher  moral  and  spiritual  nature. 
The  phrase  in  this  verse  would  better 
read,  the  law  of  spiritual  life,  &c. 

3.  Positive  good  is  the  only  remedy 
for  positive  evil,  as  the  only  antidote 
to  darkness  is  hght.  The  power  of 
sin  must  be  met  by  an  answering 
power,  and  that  power  is  provided  in 
the  Gospel.  The  passions  are  ram- 
pant and  the  appetites  eager ;  then 
the  moral  forces  must  be  equally  decid- 
ed and  energetic.  The  defect  of  the 
Law  was  that  its  fonu  was,  Thou  shalt 
7iot,  —  a  system  of  restraint,  a  curb 
put  upon  the  lower  man ;  but  the  glory 
of  Christianity  is,  that  it  says.  Thou 
shalt,  —  thou  shalt  love,  believe,  hope, 
obey,  —  and  is  thus  a  system  of  ex- 
citement and  culture  to  all  the  noblest 
faculties  of  human  nature,  as  well  as 
a  restraint  on  the  lower  desires.  The 
Law  rather  stirred  up  the  opposition 
of  the  propensities,  than  spoke  to  the 
depths  of  the  soul.  The  very  air  of 
a  prohibitory  command  kindles  the 
embers  of  sleeping  desire,  as  the  an- 
cients wrote  ;  Seneca,  "  that  parri- 
cides began  with  the  law " ;  and 
Horace,  "  that  the  human  race,  bold 
to  perpetrate  anything,  rush  through 
forbidden  evil " ;  and  Ovid,  "  that  we 
stri^-e  for  wdiat  is  denied,  and  always 
desire  what  is  refused."  King  Sol- 
omon spoke  to  like  effect  when  he 
said,  "  Stolen  waters  are  sweet,  and 
bread  eaten  in  secret  is  pleasant." 
Neander  rejects  the  notion  that  the 


146 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  and  for  sin,  condemned  sin  in  the  flesh : 
that  the  righteousness  of  the  law  might  be  fuLfilled  in  us,  who  walk  4 
not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit.    For  they  that  are  after  the  5 
flesh  do  mind  the  things  of  the  flesh ;  but  they  that  are  after  the 


meaning  of  this  verse  is  that  "  Christ 
bore  for  men  the  punishment  attached 
to  sin  by  the  Law,"  but  interprets 
this  and  the  next  verse  thus  :  "  That 
what  was  mipossible  to  the  Law,  what 
it  was  unable  to  effect  owing  to  the 
predominant  sinfulness  in  human  na- 
ture, was  accomplished  by  God  when 
he  sent  his  Son  into  the  world  in  that 
human  nature  which  had  hitherto 
been  under  the  dominion  of  sin,  and 
when  he  condemned  sin,  that  is,  de- 
spoiled it  of  its  power  and  supremacy, 
and  manifested  its  powerlessness  in 
that  human  nature,  over  which  it  had 
before  reigned,  in  order  (ver.  4)  that 
the  requirements  of  the  laAv  might  be 
fulfilled  in  behevers,  as  those  whose 
lives  were  not  governed  by  sinful 
desire,  but  by  the  spirit,  the  divine 
vital  princijjle  of  the  spirit  that  pro- 
ceeded from  Christ."  I  am  happy  to 
introduce  such  passages  from  modern 
orthodox  writers,  because  they  prove 
that  the  ancient  bigotry  is  breaking 
up  and  passing  away,  and  new  views 
are  dawning  upon  the  human  soul. 
The  able  and  conclusive  work  by 
Mr.  Wilson  on  the  Concessions  of 
Trinitarians  might  be  matched  by 
another  equally  satisfactory  on  the 
concessions  of  Calvinists.  —  And  for 
sin.  Because  of,  or  on  account  of 
sin.  No  doubt  it  was  on  account  of 
the  existence  of  sin,  and  with  a  view 
to  do  it  away  in  the  world,  that 
Christ  came  ;  but  here  is  nothing  said 
or  implied,  as  both  Neander  and  01s- 
hausen  confess,  of  a  vicarious  sacri- 
fice or  atonement,  whatever  may  be 
found  elsewhere. —  Condemned  sin. 
Not  the  disciples  are  condemned, 
ver.  1,  because  they  have  left  the 
Law  and  become  Christians,  but  sin  is 
the   thing  condemned.     As  the  dis- 


ciples of  Jesus,  they  would  be  ac- 
cepted if  they  were  Jews,  and  they 
would  not  be  condemned  if  they 
were  Gentiles. 

4.  Of  the  law.  I.  e.  the  right- 
eousness required  by  the  Law.  It 
appears,  then,  that  there  is  no  con- 
trariety between  the  Law  and  the 
Gospel,  because  righteousness  is  the 
great  desideratum  in  both  systems ; 
but  what  the  Law,  appealing  to  less 
powerful  motives  and  influences, 
could  not  accomplish,  is  eff'ected  by 
Christianity.  But  it  is  never  to  be 
forgotten  that  the  system  of  Moses 
advocated  a  high  moral  standard  of 
action,  and  that  its  residt  was,  imper- 
fect as  were  its  motives  and  sanctions, 
viewed  as  an  education  for  the  race, 
that  under  liis  system  were  exhibited 
some  of  the  noblest  specimens  of 
character  the  world  has  ever  seen. 

5.  The  different  moral  states  of 
persons,  as  they  pursue  one  or  an- 
other aim  in  hfe,.  is  described  by 
the  Apostle  with  a  simplicity  and 
directness  that  a  child  could  under- 
stand. We  take  on  the  hue  of  our 
pursuits,  chameleon-like,  and  if  riches, 
fame,  or  pleasure  be  our  chief  inter- 
est, they  assimilate  to  their  own  spirit ; 
or  if  righteousness,  goodness,  and 
usefulness  be  our  "  main  chance," 
then  we  grow  into  their  likeness. 
Hence  it  is  of  the  greatest  conse- 
quence that  we  should,  if  possible, 
arrange  the  circumstances  of  our  lot 
in  life,  our  profession,  family,  citizen- 
ship, neighborhood,  church,  friend- 
ship, and  all  other  things,  so  that  they 
will  bear  favorabl}',  and  not  adversely, 
on  the  religious  life.  The  Christian, 
like  the  mariner,  must  learn  to  take 
advantage  of  all  the  winds  and  waves 
to  carry  him  on  his  true  course.    The 


VIII. 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


147 


6  Spii'it,  the  things  of  the   Spirit.      For  to  be  carnaUy-minded  is 

7  death ;  but  to  be  spirituallj-minded  is  life  and  peace.      Because 
the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God :  for  it  is  not  subject  to  the 

8  law  of  God,  neither  indeed  can  be.     So  then  they  that  are  in  the 


power  of  temptation  and  sin  may 
never  Uq  entirely  vanquished  and  an- 
nihilated, but  the  general  progress 
will  be  certain  and  triumphant  as  the 
morning  light. 

6.  This  is  a  summary  of  all  religion 
anc^  all  morality,  an  epitome  of  all 
human  experience,  history,  and  des- 
tiny. Paul  would  raise  the  contem- 
plation of  his  readers  above  the  nar- 
row confines  of  the  question  between 
JeAvs  and  Gentiles,  and  show  them 
both  the  higher  view  of  life  and  faith, 
the  eternal  boundaries  of  moral  being 
independent  of  all  special  beliefs. 
Whether  they  were  children  of  Abra- 
ham, or  "  dogs  of  the  Gentiles,"  they 
would  be  bound  by  those  original  and 
eternal  necessities  of  our  moral  being, 
by  which  vice  is  misery  and  ruin,  and 
virtue  life  and  peace.  As  it  respect- 
ed Christianity,  they  would  be  no 
better  if  they  were  Jews,  and  they 
would  be  no  worse  if  they  were  Gen- 
tiles. Spiritual  considerations  tow- 
ered heaven-high  above  all  nationali- 
ties and  religious  jDarties. 

7.  This  verse  contains  a  statement, 
which  is  self-evident,  and  inevitable 
by  the  very  terms  in  which  the  prop- 
osition is  couched.  The  carnal, 
worldly  mind  is  not  in  harmony  with 
God,  from  the  very  fact  that  it  is 
carnal  and  worldly.  James  iv.  4. 
These  qualities  erect  a  barrier  moun- 
tain-high against  the  Divine  Spirit  and 
peace.  While  the  world  is  in,  God 
must  be  out,  of  the  heart.  The  law 
in  spiritual  things  is  as  decisive  as  in 
material  ones,  no  two  bodies  can  oc- 
cupy the  same  space  at  the  same  time. 
"  Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  Mammon." 
Gal.  vi.  8.  This  is  one  thing,  but  it 
is  another  and  more  laborious  attempt, 
to  prove  from  this  verse  the  total  sin- 


fulness of  human  nature.  For,  ob- 
serve, it  is  not  the  mind  that  is  pro- 
nounced enmity  against  God,  but  the 
carnal  mind,  that  which  minds  the 
things  of  flesh  and  sense  supremely, 
that  which  is  obedient  to  the  law 
of  the  members,  chap.  vii.  23.  The 
Apostle  constantly  recognizes  an  in- 
terior I,  and  core  of  the  spiritual  be- 
ino;,  that  always  remonstrates  against 
being  made  the  tool  and  slave  of  the 
body,  and  living  to  fulfil  its  low  pur- 
poses. Indeed  if  the  natural  state  of 
the  human  being  in  his  healthy  and 
normal  exercise  Avere  hostility  to  God, 
why  does  his  conscience  remonstrate, 
why  does  reason  resist,  and  why  does 
the  heart  loathe,  a  sinful  life  ?  In 
that  case  peace  and  satisfaction,  in- 
stead of  remorse  and  bitterness,  would 
follow  wrong-doing,  because  such  a 
course  would  square  with  the  native 
bent  of  the  powers.  We  are  told  on 
high  authority,  that  "  he  that  sinneth 
wrongeth  his  own  soul " ;  but  how 
can  he  do  that,  if  it  is  already  full  of 
corruption  and  sin  ?  Mankind  are 
doubtless  bad  enough,  and  their  spir- 
itual condition  is  dark  and  gloomy 
enough,  but  we  need  not  color  more 
highly  than  the  reality,  or  think  to 
honor  Christ  and  Christianity  by  mak- 
ing the  pit  out  of  which  they  draw 
the  sinner  deeper  than  it  is  in  truth. 
Else  we  incur  the  hazard  of  dishonor- 
ing the  creation  and  providence  of 
God,  in  proportion  as  we  glorify  the 
speciality  of  revelation. 

8.  That  are  in  thejlesh,  i.  e.  in  the 
fleshly,  sensual  mind ;  for  they  disobey 
the  first  grand  orcUnance  of  human 
nature,  which  requires  that  the  spirit 
should  govern  the  body,  not  the  bod}^ 
the  spirit.  Their  conduct  cannot  be 
satisfactory  to  the  Creator,  because  it 


148 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


flesli  cannot  please  God.     But  ye  are  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the   9 
Spirit,  if  so  be  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwell  in  you.     Now  if  any 
man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his.     And  if  Christ  10 
he  in  you,  the  body  is  dead  because  of  sin  ;  but  the  Spirit  is  life 


is  a  direct  violation  of  his  plan  and 
law.  Chrysostom  well  says,  he  does 
not  affirm  that  the  bad  man  cannot 
become  a  good  one ;  but  that,  while 
he  continues  .to  be  bad,  he  cannot 
possibly  obey  God,  or  please  him." 
Fire  is  not  so  opposite  to  frost,  nor 
hght  to  darkness,  nor  sweet  to  bitter, 
as  is  right  to  wrong,  and  the  spirit  of 
vice  and  sensuality  to  the  pure  and 
benevolent  law  of  God. 

9.  The  distinction  is  here  indicated 
between  the  spirit  of  the  behever, 
and  the  spirit  of  God,  and  the  spirit 
of  Christ,  and  as  much  separate  per- 
sonality is  ascribed  to  one  as  to 
another.  The  true  Christian  life  im- 
plies such  a  permanency  and  uni- 
formity of  a  righteous,  benevolent,  and 
holy  disposition  in  man,  that  it  may 
be  said  that  the  spirit  of  God  and  of 
Christ  have  taken  up  their  constant 
abode  in  him.  This  is  the  sense  of 
the  word  dwell.  Therefore,  in  such  a 
case  the  fleshly  life  is  excluded  by 
force  of  preoccupation,  and  the  in- 
ferior propensities  are  held  in  check, 
not  by  the  grinding  compulsion  of  a 
law,  but  by  the  fulness  and  abundance 
of  the  divine  hfe,  which  overflows, 
restrains,  and  sanctifies  them.  1  Cor. 
iii.  IG.  Olshausen  remarks,  that  "  the 
possession  of  this  spirit  of  Christ  is 
naturally  not  to  be  measured  accord- 
ing to  the  mere  feeling  (the  agreeable 
sensation  of  the  nearness  of  God,  of 
comfort,  of  spiritual  joy),  for  this  is 
too  fleeting,  and  the  state  of  grace 
may  be  entirely  unimpaired,  even  in 
great  barrenness  and  dryness,  —  nay, 
in  the  progress  of  the  inward  life,  the 
sweet  sensations  of  the  first  young 
love  are  almost  ever  disappearing; 
but  according  tj  its  real  effects  and 
fruits.    If  the  man  observes  not  these 


in  himself,  and  temptations  at  the 
same  time  increase  and  strengthen, 
then  at  all  events  he  is  in  a  suspi- 
cious and  assaulted  state."  No  creed 
in  Christendom  has  so  good  a  criteri- 
on of  what  really  disquaUfies  a  man 
from  being  a  Christian  as  this  little 
sentence  of  Paul :,."  Now  if  any  man 
have  not  the  spirit  of  Christ,  he  is 
none  of  his."  Not  dogma,  not  ritual, 
not  profession,  justifies  the  title,  but 
the  state  of  the  heart.  For  although 
the  truth  is  an  all-important  instru- 
ment to  create  the  right  spirit,  yet 
some  men  with  bungling  tools  can 
achieve  more  work  than  others  with 
all  the  inventions  and  appliances  of 
the  age.  The  test  of  the  children  of 
the  light  is,  that  they  are  looking  to- 
wards the  light,  though  at  ever  so 
great  a  distance,  and  that  it  shines 
upon  and  irradiates  their  faces,  and 
cheers  and  guides  their  pathway,  up- 
ward and  onward  through  all  the 
stages  of  their  spiritual  career. 

10,  11.  Various  criticisms  have 
been  made  upon  the  sense  of  this 
passage,  but  the  true  import  is  not 
very  difficult  to  understand,  nor  are 
the  different  views  AvhoUy  dissimilar 
one  to  another.  There  is  a  negative 
proposition,  a  positive  proposition, 
and,  finally,  a  promise.  The  negative 
proposition  is,  that  the  body  is  dead 
because  of  sin ;  or,  in  other  words,  by 
the  Christian  spirit  the  old  man  with 
his  passions  and  desires  is  mortified, 
or  put  to  death.  The  positive  prop- 
osition is,  that  the  effect  upon  the 
spirit  is  life,  as  the  effect  upon  the 
body  is  mortification  or  death,  and 
that  a  new  man  comes  into  bein^. 
Then  the  promise  is,  that  the  spirit 
of  God,  so  quick  and  powerful  that 
it  made  even  the  dead  Christ  hve 


VIII. 


TO   THE  KOMANS. 


149 


11  because  of  righteousness.  But  if  the  Spirit  of  him  that  raised  up 
Jesus  from  the  dead  dwell  in  you,  he  that  raised  up  Christ  from 
the  dead  shall  also  quicken  your  mortal  bodies  by  his  Spirit  that 

12  dwelleth  in  you.     Therefore,  brethren,  we  are  debtors  not  to  the 

13  flesh,  to  live  after  the  flesh.  For  if  ye  live  after  the  flesh,  ye 
shall  die  :  but  if  ye  through  the  Spirit  do  mortify  the  deeds  of 


again,  Avill  give  new  vitality  even  to 
the  frail  body,  and  make  it  a  glorious 
instrument    of   righteousness.      But 
here,  as  elsewhere,  there  is  a  large  in- 
definiteness,  and  penumbra  or  shadow 
of  sense,  surrouudmg  the  Apostle's 
thought.     In  one  clause  he  seems  to 
be  speaking  of  this  life,  then  he  dilates 
in  his  conception,  and,  glancing  from 
time  to  eternity,  he  comprehends  both 
worlds  in  his  survey.     This  indistinct- 
ness is  not  probably  a  blemish  in  con- 
sidering themes  so  vast  as  those  he 
handles  in  this  chapter.     If  the  intel- 
lectual effect  is  not  so  sure,  the  spirit- 
ual influences  are  more  rich  and  sug- 
gestive from  the  wide  horizon  of  his 
contemplation.    Rom.  vi.  5-7.    Eph. 
ii.  5.    Olshausen  remarks  :  "  As  surely 
as  the  spirit  is  immaterial,  yet  really 
dwells  in  the  material  body,  so  surely 
does  the  Divine  Spirit  penetrate  and 
unite  with  the  human,  without  annul- 
ling his  essence,  or  confounding  his 
laws ;  for  the  human  spirit  is  the  very 
organ  for  the  Divine,  and  that  is  a  per- 
verse state  (sin)  if  he  is  not  working 
in  it.     "We  have  too  httle  knowledge 
of  the  substance  of  the  spirit  to  get  a 
clear  insight  into  such  penetration  of 
spirit   by  spirit;    meanwhile   nature 
offers  analogies  not  to  be  rejected  in 
the  material  world;  for  instance,  the 
penetration  of  electric  or  magnetic 
streams." 

In  regard  to  the  style  and  logic  of 
Paul,  Locke  remarks  in  this  connec- 
tion :  "  I  think  there  is  not  anywhere 
to  be  found  a  more  pertinent,  close 
arguer,  who  has  bis  eye  always  on  the 
mark  he  drives  at.  Tliis  men  would 
find  if  they  would  study  him  as  they 
13* 


ought,  with  more  regard  to  the  divine 
authority  than  to  hypotheses  of  their 
own,  or  to  opinions  of  the  season.  I 
do  not  say  that  he  is  everywhere  clear 
In  his  expressions  to  us  now,  but  I  do 
say  he  is  everywhere  a  coherent,  per- 
tinent writer,  and  wherever  In  his 
commentators  and  Interpreters  any 
sense  is  given  to  his  words  that  dis- 
joints his  discourse,  or  deviates  from 
his  argument,  and  looks  like  a  wan- 
dering thought,  It  is  easy  to  know 
whose  it  Is,  and  whose  the  imperti- 
nence Is, — his,  or  theirs  who  father  It 
on  him." 

12-17.  These  verses  may  be  con- 
sidered In  some  measure  as  going  to- 
gether, and  constituting  a  species  of 
parenthetical  clause  on  the  spiritu- 
ality and  filial  adoption  of  the  true 
disciples  of  Jesus. 

12,  13.  As  he  had  before  argued 
that  they  Avere  not  debtors  to  the  Law, 
to  live  after  the  Law,  chap.  vll.  4,  so 
now  he  shows  that  they  were  to  five, 
not  a  less  strict  and  elevated  life  than 
the  JcAvIsh  believers,  but  one  more 
so,  one  on  a  higher  moral  plane,  and 
connected  to  God  by  a  nearer  and 
tenderer  relationship. —  Mortify,  put 
to  death  the  sinful  deeds  and  desires. 
To  die  or  to  live,  the  respective  Issues 
of  two  different  kinds  of  fife,  are 
equivalent  to  being  miserable  or  be- 
ing happy.  Sin  creates  a  deadness 
of  the  wliole  man,  where  it  Is  al- 
lowed free  scope,  and  bhghts  body, 
mind,  and  heart  by  Its  blasting  power. 
Jesus  came  that  "  we  might  have  life, 
and  that  we  might  have  it  more 
abundantly."  He  unseals  In  the 
depths    of  human    nature    "a  well 


150 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


the  body,  ye  shall  live.  For  as  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  i4 
God,  they  are  the  sons  of  God.  For  ye  have  not  received  the  15 
spirit  of  bondage  again  to  fear ;  but  ye  have  received  the  Spirit  of 
adoption,  whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Father.  The  Spirit  itself  beareth  le 
witness  with  our  spii'it,  that  we  are  the  childi'en  of  God :  and  if  17 
children,  then  heirs  ;  heirs  of  God,  and  joint  heirs  with  Christ ; 
if  so  be  that  we  suffer  with  Jmn,  that  we  may  be  also  glorified 


of  water,  springing  up  into  everlast- 
ing life." 

14.  The  true  sons  of  God  are  not 
the  children  of  Abraham  alone,  but 
those  who  have  the  spirit  of  God, 
whether  they  be  Jews  or  Gentiles. 
The  relationship  is  not  by  physical 
descent  or  race,  but  by  spiritual  re- 
semblance. The  connection  of  ideas 
with  ver.  13  seems  to  be,  that  they 
shall  live  and  not  die,  because  by 
means  of  their  spiritual  likeness  they 
are  children  of  God,  i.  e.  mimortal  like 
God,  and  not  subject  to  dissolution. 

15.  The  Christian  believer,  instead 
of  being  admitted  to  a  less  intimate 
relationship  with  God  than  was  en- 
joyed by  the  chosen  people,  or  being 
subjected  by  the  new  dispensation  to 
a  slavish  fear,  as  was  the  case,  neces- 
sarily, with  the  Jews,  because  they 
were  a  rude  people  and  their  faith 
was  a  rudimental  one,  entered  into 
the  most  delightful  spirit  of  adoption, 
or  filiation  with  God,  so  that  he  could 
without  blame  or  fear  call  God  by  his 
most  endeared  name  of  Father.  01s- 
hausen  remarks,  that  "Abba,  hke 
Papa,  can  be  spoken  by  the  mouth 
even  of  the  babbling  child,  and  prop- 
erly therefore  characterizes  genuine 
childlike  disposition  and  manner." 
Gal.  iii.  26 ;  iv.  6.  The  rise  and 
progress  of  true  religion  in  the  soul 
may  be  tested  very  much  by  this  cri- 
terion, how  much  we  have  of  the  true 
fiUal  and  confiding  love  of  a  cliild  to- 
wards our  Heavenly  Father,  and  how 
far  we  can,  under  all  circumstances, 
even  of  darkness  and  grief  and  fear, 


cast  ourselves  into  his  arms,  and  say, 
"  Even  so.  Father,  for  so  it  seemed 
good  in  thy  sight." 

16,  17.  He  now  comes  to  the  proof 
that  this  spirit  of  adoption  Avas  a  re- 
ality, and  not  a  fancy,  and  he  appeals 
to  the  inward  testimony  of  the  spirit. 
The  disposition  itself  is  the  proof,  and 
carries  its  own  weight  of  argument 
with  it.  The  voice  of  God  in  the 
heart  cannot  deceive  us,  but  gives  us 
persuasive  evidence  that  we  are  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  an  Almighty 
Parent.  But  an  important  inference 
follows,  that,  if  we  are  the  children  of 
God,  then,  as  in  earthly  relationships 
of  a  hke  kind,  we  are  his  heirs,  and 
have  an  inheritance,  in  prospect, 
great  and  glorious  as  becomes  such  a 
testator,  and  one  too  which  we  share 
with  the  elder  brother  and  oldest  son 
of  the  spiritual  family,  our  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ.  2  Cor.  i.  22  ;  1  John 
iv.  13.  AVhat  delightful  assurances, 
what  comforting  hopes,  and  what  ani- 
mating motives  are  supplied  from  this 
source  to  enable  us  both  to  do  and 
to  endure  all  the  holy  will  of  Him 
whose  children  we  are  !  We  may 
look  up  to  heaven,  and  forward  to 
eternity,  if  this  conviction  be  planted 
deep  and  strong  in  our  heart  of  hearts, 
without  distrust  or  terror.  For  we 
know  that  here  and  hereafter,  now 
and  for  ever,  all  is  eventually  well,  all 
is  right,  all  is  good,  all  is  infinitely 
blessed  and  glorious,  in  the  universe 
of  One  so  mighty,  so  wise,  and  so 
good.  Luke  xxii.  29 ;  John  xvii. 
24  ;  Rev.  iii.  21. 


VIII. 


TO   THE  EOMANS. 


151 


18  together.     For  I  reckon  that  the  suflferings  of  this  present  tune 
are  not  worthy  to  he  compared  with  the  glory  wliich  shall  be  re- 

19  vealed  in  us.     For  the  earnest  expectation  of  the  creature  waiteth 


18.  2  Cor.  iv.  17  ;  Col.  ill.  4.  He 
draws  encouragement  from  tliis  son- 
ship  and  heirship  to  God,  to  support 
the  disciples  of  Jesus  in  their  hard 
struggles  and  persecutions  in  the 
world.  If  they  looked  for  honors 
and  rewards  in  the  present  state,  they 
were  of  all  men  most  miserable ;  but 
when  they  included  both  worlds  in 
their  contemplation,  they  were  the 
happiest  and  most  enviable  of  mortals. 
Nothing  they  suffered  here,  though  it 
were  the  dungeon,  cross,  rack,  or  stake, 
could  for  a  moment  weigh  against  the 
glory  and  bliss  and  eternal  peace  of 
heayen.  Even  the  Jewish  Rabbin 
caught  a  similar  idea,  when  he  said, 
"  One  hour's  refreshment  in  the  world 
to  come,  is  better  than  the  whole  of 
hfe  on  this  side  of  the  grave."  It  is 
true  we  may  exaggerate,  but  it  is 
equally  true  that  we  may  underrate, 
the  happiness  of  heaven.  For  if  there 
is  any  meaning  in  language,  any  rea- 
son for  exultation,  any  truth  in  the 
yearnings  of  the  human  heart,-  any 
rehance  on  the  visions  of  apostles  and 
prophets,  martyrs  and  confessors,  any 
trust  in  the  promises  of  Jesus,  then 
the  life  of  the  good  in  the  world  of 
spirits  is  to  possess  a  richness,  fulness, 
peace,  love,  and  spontaneous  and  joy- 
ous exhilaration,  such  as  our  best  ex- 
periences here  but  very  faintly  repre- 
sent and  prophesy. 

19-22.  In  this  subhme  passage, 
the  Apostle,  wanned  with  his  subject, 
depicts  the  whole  creation  as  yearn- 
ino;  and  agonizing  and  travailing  in 
pain  to  achieve  this  glorious  spiritual 
emancipation  of  the  children  of  God. 
But  we  must  beware  of  that  prosaic 
and  bold  hterality,  which  has  so  much 
stood  in  the  way  of  the  Occidental 
nations  understanding  the  Oriental 
Bible.      For  by  what   the  Apostle 


here  says,  we  are  not  at  liberty  to 
suppose  that  he  predicates  either  the 
fall  of  inanimate  nature  with  the  so- 
called  fall  of  Adam,  or  the  restoration 
of  inanimate  nature  Avith  the  return 
of  man  to  the  ways  of  righteousness 
and  peace.  At  the  most,  Paul  but 
describes,  as  in  ver.  21,  the  ncAv  and 
higher  uses  to  which  even  the  material 
world  would  be  put  by  a  Christian 
civilization  than  by  savages  and  bar- 
barians. But  the  main  current  of  his 
eloquence  is  unquestionably  after  the 
spirit  of  King  David  in  his  Psalms, 
where  the  exuberance  of  his  piety 
and  love  overflows  and  invests  all 
nature  with  its  own  glorious  hues, 
and  he  calls  upon  rocks,  hills,  seas, 
stars,  and  every  work  and  every 
creature  of  God,  from  the  worm  in 
the  sod  to  the  angel  in  the  sky,  to 
unite  with  him  in  praising  the  Al- 
mighty, and  sinoing  his  songs  of  grati- 
tude  and  love.  The  longing,  the 
Apostle  would  say,  that  man  might 
find  his  way  to  God,  is  so  intense, 
the  prophecy  of  the  manifestation  of 
God's  children  is  so  sure,  that  all 
nature  breaks  forth  in  unison  with  it. 
It  is  the  key-note  of  the  universe,  by 
which  rivers  flow,  and  stars  revolve, 
and  nations  rise  and  fall.  To  this 
point  the  sum  of  created  things  is 
gathered,  and  herein  all  culminates 
and  flowers,  that  mankhid  should  be- 
come the  rational,  aflectionate,  and 
obedient  cluldren  of  God.  In  setting 
forth  the  idea,  the  Apostle  makes  use, 
no  doubt,  of  the  phraseology  of  his 
age  and  nation,  by  which  a  restora- 
tion of  all  things,  a  golden  age  to 
come,  is  frequently  described.  XJi® 
lion  and  the  lamb  were  to  lie  down 
together.  Poisons  would  no  more 
infest  the  earth,  nor  tempests  sweep 
the  sky,  nor  sickness  and  pain  fasten 


152 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[CUAP. 


for  tlie  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God.     For  the  creature  was  20 
made  subject  to  vanity,  not  wilhngly,  but  by  reason  of  him  who 
hath  subjected  the  same  in  hope ;  because  the  creature  itself  also  21 
shall  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption  into  the  glorious 
liberty  of  the  children  of  God.     For  we  know  that  the  whole  crea-  22 


on  the  human  body.  Heaven  would 
come  down  to  earth,  and  men  would 
be  as  happy  as  angels.  But  Paul 
touches  lightly  on  the  imagery  of 
such  an  age  of  peace  and  felicity; 
and  there  is  no  intrinsic  evidence 
here  that  he  used  the  popular  no- 
tions in  any  closer  sense  than  to 
illustrate  the  splendid  march  of  Chris- 
tian regeneration  and  life,  and  con- 
summation of  all  the  lower  ends  and 
auns  of  created  things  in  the  one  total 
and  superlative  object  of  the  union 
of  m^n  with  God.  Tholuck  sums 
up  much  wisdom  in  few  words,  when 
he  says :  "  Such  descriptions  are 
neither  to  be  interpreted  altogether 
outwardly,  nor  yet  altogether  in- 
wardly." It  may  here  be  mentioned, 
that  the  Jewish  theologians  held  the 
tenet  that  "  the  Messiah  would  renew 
the  world  and  purge  and  consecrate 
the  place  of  hell  itself."  Said  one : 
"  Though  all  things  were  created 
perfect,  they  nevertheless  became 
corrupt  when  the  first  man  sinned, 
nor  will  they  return  to  their  right 
condition  until  the  Messiah  cometh, 
because  there  are  six  things  which 
shall  return  to  their  primeval  state, — 
the  beauty  of  man,  his  life,  the 
length  of  his  stature,  the  fruits  of  the 
earth,  the  fruits  of  the  trees,  and  the 
lights  of  heaven."  In  illustration  of 
the  passage,  Luther  is  also  quoted  as 
saying :  "  God  will  not  only  make  the 
earth,  but  also  the  heavens,  far  fairer 
than  they  now  are.  The  present 
world  is  his  working  clothes ;  here- 
after he  will  put  on  an  Easter  and 
Whitsunday  suit." 

19.  Earnest  expectation  of  tJie  crea- 
ture.    Even  the  dumb  and  voiceless 


ereation  —  for  so  should  creature  be 
rendered  —  longs  to  witness  the  vis- 
ible glory  of  a  new  spiritual  state  of 
mankind. 

20.  For  thQ  external  world  has 
been  made  subject  to  the  abuse  of 
man  on  account  of  his  ignorance  and 
his  wickedness,  not  as  it  were  by  its 
own  choice,  but  by  the  will  of  its 
Lord  and  Master,  who  has  done  it  in 
anticipation  of  that  "  good  time  com- 
ing," when  man  would  no  more  lay  a 
wasteful  or  sacrilegious  or  perverting 
hand  upon  plant,  mineral,  elemerft,  or 
animal. 

2L  So  that  the  recovery  of  man's 
spiritual  na,ture  shall  be  matched  by 
a  like  redemption  of  the  natural  world 
from  its  neglect  or  abuse,  and  its  con- 
secration to  the  highest  purposes  of 
human  existence,  and  the  fulfikaent 
of  the  Divine  plan. 

22.  All  nature  has  undergone,  as 
it  were,  the  pains  of  parturition,  in 
expectation  of  that  brighter  and  hap- 
pier era  of  human  improvement  and 
spiritual  regeneration ;  for  she  has 
felt  herself  wronged  and  perverted 
from  her  true  end  by  the  lusts  and 
passions  of  an  ignorant  and  mcked 
race.  Her  fair  fields  have  been  dyed 
with  human  blood;  her  benevolent 
forces  have  been  turned  into  instru- 
ments of  fratricide ;  her  seas  have 
been  the  pathway  of  the  slave-ship, 
robbery,  and  piracy ;  her  richest  pro- 
ductions have  been  tortured  into  the 
means  of  gluttony  and  intemperance, 
and  her  fair  domains  and  possessions 
have  been  the  prizes  of  a  grasping 
covetousness  and  a  proud  ambition. 
The  creation  is  deUvered  to  man  to 
re-make  and  embellish,  not  to  mar 


vin. 


TO  THE  ROMANS. 


153 


23  tion  groaneth  and  travailetli  in  pain  together  until  now.  And  not 
onlj  they,  but  ourselves  also,  which  have  the  first-fruits  of  the  Spirit, 
even  we  ourselves  groan  within  ourselves,  waiting  for  the  adop- 

24  tion,  to  wit,  the  redemption  of  our  body.  For  we  are  saved  by 
hope :  but  hope  that  is  seen  is  not  hope :  for  what  a  man  seeth, 

25  why  doth  he  yet  hope  for  ?     But  if  we  hope  for  that  we  see  not, 
2G  then  do  we  with  patience  wait  for  it.      Likewise  the  spirit  also 

helpeth  our  infirmities :  for  we  know  not  what  we  should  pray  for 

as  we  ought :  but  the  spirit  itself  maketh  intercession  for  us  with 

27  groanings  which  cannot  be  uttered.     And  he  that  searcheth  the 


and  deform.  He  is  to  be  a  co-worker 
with  God  in  reducing  the  wildness  of 
rude  elements  and  coarse  materials 
to  science  and  art,  and  making  a  gar- 
den, a  farm,  a  ship,  a  home,  a  city, 
where  before  were  a  forest,  and  the 
wikl  beasts,  and  the  unvisited  sea. 

23.  This  earnest  longing  is  es- 
pecially shared  by  those  who  have 
tasted  the  incipient  blessings  of  the 
Christian  Hfe,  and  who  know  to  what 
higher  good,  even  a  complete  emanci- 
pation of  the  soul  and  an  entire  con- 
secration of  the  bodily  powers,  the 
Gospel  leads  the  way.  Nothing  can 
cause  so  much  disquiet  to  the  true 
follower  of  Jesus,  as  the  hinderances  to 
the  full  and  harmonious  development 
of  his  Christian  character,  and  the 
stumbhng-blocks  to  a  true  and  noble 
life.  Loss  and  pain  and  grief  are 
sore  evils,  but  they  cannot  comj)are 
in  poignancy  of  suffering  with  a  rest- 
less heart,  or  a  wounded  conscience, 
or  a  corrosive  temper,  or  a  worldly 
ambition,  or  a  sensual  desire,  or  any- 
tliiug  else  which  impairs  or  depresses 
the  inward  life.  2  Cor.  v.  2,  4  ;  1  John 
iii.  2. 

24,  25.  Saved  hj  hope  ;  or,  in  hope. 
Our  salvation  thus  far  is  rcither  a 
matter  of  hope  than  of  reahty.  We 
hope  we  are  saved.  Neander  re- 
marks, that,  "  from  the  relation  of  the 
Christian  life  of  faith  and  love  to  a 
creation  that  is  to  be  perfectly  de- 
veloped and  completed  only  in  the 


future  state,  it  follows  that  faith  and 
love  cannot  subsist  without  hope." 
"  The  faith  that  operates  by  love 
could  not  persist  in  the  efforts  which 
so  many  obstacles  oppose,  in  conflict 
with  the  inward  and  outward  world, 
if  the  prospect  were  not  granted  of 
certainly  attaining  its  end.  Hence 
jjersevei-ance  in  the  work  and  conflict 
of  faith  is  the  practical  side  of  hope." 
—  With  jmtience  ;  or,  perseverance. 
Patience  is  a  passive  virtue,  persever- 
ance is  an  active  one. 

26,  27.  The  spirit  here  spoken  of 
cannot  be  the  Spirit  of  God,  because 
he  is  represented  as  knowing  what 
its  mind  is,  which  it  would  be  un- 
necessary to  remark  if  he  were  that 
identical  spirit  itself.  But  the  Apos- 
tle personifies  the  indwelhng  spirit 
of  the  Christian  life  and  character,  as 
he  had  before  sin,  chap.  vii.  1 7,  which 
worked  hke  a  distinct  power  in  him- 
self. Li  enumerating,  therefore,  the 
offsets  to  the  trials  and  persecutions 
wliich  the  Christians  were  exposed 
to,  he  mentions  this  aid  of  the  spirit 
of  spirit,  of  the  character,  the  historic 
unity  and  continuity  of  soul,  which 
helps  make  many  things  clear.  If  we 
have  infirmities,  we  also  have  aids; 
an  unmortal  nature  struggles,  and 
aspires,  and  dilates  within  us.  We 
cannot  by  a  distinct  act  of  volition 
pray  as  we  ought,  but  this  instinctive 
and  spontaneous  spirit,  soul  of  our  ^ 
soul,  intercedes  for  us  with  inarticu- 


154 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


hearts  knoweth  what  is  the  mind  of  the  spirit,  because  he  maketh 
intercession  for  the  saints  according  to  the  will  of  God.     And  we  28 
know  that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God,  to  them  who  are  the  caUed  according  to  his  purpose.     For  29 
whom  he  did  foreknow,  he  also  did  predestinate  to  be  conformed  to 
the  imao-e  of  his  Son,  that  he  might  be  the  first-born  among  many 


late  sighs,  and  instructs  us  how  to 
pray.  —  Knoweth  lohat  is  the  mind  of 
the  spirit.  Whitwell  translates  it, 
"  Foi'  he  who  seareheth  the  heart 
knoweth  what  the  purpose  of  the 
spirit  is,  that  it  is  conformable  to  his 
will  in  its  requests  for  Christians." 
The  All-seeing  One  recognizes  the 
purity  of  motive  of  the  spirit  in  its 
spontaneous  supplications  and  inward 
intercessions.  There  are  two  steps, 
therefore,  in  these  verses;  first,  the 
natural  uplifting  of  the  spirit  to  God 
in  prayer  and  aspiration,  not  always 
spoken ;  and  secondly,  there  is  the 
consciousness  that  God  knows  all, 
and  approves  of  this  movement  of 
the  human  heart  toward  himself  A 
Mahometan  quoted  by  Tholuck  has 
written :  — 

"  Each  Lord,  appear!  thy  lips  pronovmce,  con- 
tains my  Here  am  I' 

A  special  messenger  I  send  beneath  thine 
every  sigh. 

Thy  love  is  but  a  girdle  of  the  love  I  bear  to 
thee; 

And  sleeping  in  thy  Come,  O  Lord!  there 
lies  Here,  son!  from  me  " 

— Because  he,  or  it,  the  spirit,  maketh 
intercession. 

28.  To  confirm  still  further  their 
independence  of  the  Law,  and  to  re- 
lieve their  minds  of  all  anxieties  they 
might  have  respecting  the  security 
of  their  salvation,  he  now  declares 
that  they  were  embraced  in  the  pur- 
pose and  plan  of  God,  and  might 
therefore  dismiss  all  their  fears. — 
To  them  that  love  God,  whether  Jews 
or  Gentiles.  A  spiritual  qualification, 
and  not  a  national  one,  was  all  that 
was  necessary  to  secure  this  great 
boon.     The  very  purpose  of  God  was 


to  save  such  as  loved  and  obeyed 
him,  and  were  thus  his  called,  chosen, 
elect  ones.  To  the  good,  the  whole 
universe  has  been  so  exquisitely 
made  and  balanced  and  inspired,  as 
to  do  only  good  in  the  long  run,  and 
never  final  evU.  To  bring  about 
this  result,  reflect  likewise  how  well 
the  soul  itself  must  be  attuned  in  all 
its  powers,  and  how  admirable  and 
intentional  Its  adaptation  must  be  to 
the  creation  in  which  it  dwells  and 
is  educated !  The  suggestion  here 
made  was  full  of  consolation  to  the 
persecuted  Christian,  that  pain  and 
persecution  and  death  could  not 
really  and  intrinsically  harm  him,  so 
long  as  he  kept  up  the  union  of  love 
with  God,  and  observed  his  com- 
mandments of  which  that  love  was 
the  fulfilling.  This  is  a  sufficient  key 
to  unlock  the  dark  problem  of  human 
destiny ;  for  if  we  place  ourselves  at 
the  right  point,  at  the  focus  of  love, 
then  we  can  look  all  its  confusion 
into  order,  and  all  its  evil  into  good,  _ 
for  much  of  evil  is  only  good  in  the 
process  of  development.  So  ingeni- 
ously and  so  benevolently  have  all 
things  been  made,  that  nothing  can 
permanently  hurt  us  except  we  our- 
selves. AVhat  a  motive  is  here  sup- 
plied to  knowledge,  obedience,  dili- 
gence, faith,  and  love  I 

29,  30.  The  simple  thought  of 
these  formidable  verses  is,  that  they 
need  not  fear  exclusion  from  the 
pale  of  God's  mercy  if  they  tran- 
scended the  Law,  for  it  was  his  very 
purpose,  his  choice,  liis  election,  his 
decree,  that  this  very  thing  should 
take  place,  that  Chiistianity  should 


VIII. 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


155 


30  brethren.     Moreover,  whom  he  did  predestinate,  them   he   also 
called :  and  whom  he  called,  them  he  also  justified :  and  whom  he 

31  justified,  them  he  also  glorified.     What  shall  we  then  say  to  these 

32  tilings  ?    If  God  he  for  us,  who  can  he  against  us  ?    He  that  spared 
not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  hhn  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not 


supersede  Judaism,  and  that  they, 
whom  he  was  addressing  in  his  Epis- 
tles, should  be  disciples  of  Jesus,  and 
not  of  Moses.  To  make  the  idea 
more  impressive,  he  enlarges  it, 
and  welds  to;2;etber  a  long  chain 
of  words,  — foreknow,  predestinate, 
called,  justified,  glorified,  —  to  bind 
their  salvation  strong,  and  show  them 
that  they  could  not  be  lost  out  of  so 
comprehensive  a  plan,  which  extend- 
ed to  every  particular  of  their  calling, 
and  of  their  character  as  Christians. 
Norton  translates  thus :  "  For  those 
whom  God  foreknew,  he  predestined 
should  be  conformed  to  the  image  of 
his  Son,  that  he  might  be  the  first- 
born among  many  brethren ;  and 
whom  he  predestined,  he  summoned ; 
and  whom  he  summoned,  he  made 
righteous ;-  and  whom  he  made  right- 
eous, he  glorified."  God  is  spoken  of 
as  having  already  glorified  the  dis- 
ciples of  Christ,  because  it  is  certain 
that  he  will  do  it.  He  sent  liis  Son, 
but  it  was  not  to  stand  alone  in  the 
heavenly  places  of  virtue  and  good- 
ness and  spiritual  power ;  many 
brethren  like  him,  more  or  less,  were 
also  to  be  gathered  around  him, 
lovely  forms  of  character,  fair  and 
holy  and  sublime  images  of  the  great 
Archetype, — apostles,  prophets,  mar- 
tyrs, confessors,  patriots,  philanthro- 
pists, the  Christ-like  and  the  God-like. 
As  to  the  question  of  Election  or 
Predestination  as  a  theological  doc- 
trine, it  Avill  be  more  fully  discussed 
in  the  next  chapter,  much  of  which 
is  occupied  with  its  considerations 
and  bearings.  Suffice  it  to  say  here, 
that  this  passage  was  laid  down  by  no 
means  as  a  doctrine  of  exclusion,  — 


not  how  many  were  rejected,  but  as  a 
doctrine  of  comfort  and  encourage- 
ment,—  how  many  were  called  and 
purposed  to  be  Christians,  and  had, 
as  it  were,  the  Divine  guaranty  that 
they  should  not  fail  of  eventual  salva- 
tion. God  had  given  them  the  glori- 
ous distinction,  independently  of  na- 
tional lines,  to  bear  the  image  of  his 
Son,  and  to  grow  into  his  peifection 
and  love.     Eph.  i.  4-6. 

31,  .32.  Then.  If  this  be  so,  what 
■  shall  we  say  ?  What  limit  shall  we 
assign  to  the  security  and  happiness 
of  "the  Christian  V  With  the  Al- 
mighty on  our  side,  we  need  fear  no 
enemy,  for  all  hostility  is  powerless 
against  his  shield  of  protection.  It 
was,  perhaps,  from  some  passages  like 
the  conclusion  of  this  chapter,  that 
Longinus  judged  Paul  worthy  of  a 
place  among  the  greatest  orators  of 
antiquity.  In  giving  us  his  Son,  we 
have  the  strongest  pledge  and  bond 
which  could  possibly  be  given  by 
God  to  insure  to  us  his  love,  for  in 
that  unspeakable  gift  all  things  were 
included  and  guaranteed.  The  sub- 
jective and  personal  realization  of 
the  goodness  of  the  Creator  is  not 
sufficient  at  all  times,  ver.  26,  27,  but 
we  require,  and  in  Jesus  we  possess, 
an  objective  and  eternal  expression 
and  word  of  the  love  of  God,  stronger 
than  any  language,  —  a  great  and 
manifest  and  most  significant  fact,  all 
over  vocal  and  articulate,  and  jubi- 
lant of  the  love  of  God  for  his  chil- 
dren. Too  much  stress  can  hardly  be 
laid  on  the  life  and  death  of  Jesus ; 
but  it  is  evident,  here  as  well  as  else- 
where, that  the  cliief  purpose  they 
fulfil  is  to  lead  us  on  and  up  to  that 


156 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


with  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things  ?     AYho  shall  lay  any  thing  33 
to  the  charge  of  God's  elect  ?     It  is  God  that  justifieth.     Who  is  34 
he  that  condemneth  ?    It  is  Christ  that  died,  yea  rather,  that  is  risen 
again,  who  is  even  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also  maketh  inter- 
cession for  us.     Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ  ?  35 
shall  tribulation,  or  distress,  or  persecution,  or  famine,  or  nakedness, 
or  peril,  or  sword  ?     As  it  is  written.  For  thy  sake  we  are  killed  36 
all  the  day  long;    we  are  accounted  as  sheep  for  the  slaughter. 
Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than  conquerors  through  him  37 


inconceivable  and  majestic  benignity 
of  the  Father.     1  John  iv.  9, 10. 

33,  34.  That  the  purpose  of  the 
Apostle  is  one  of  vindication  and  de- 
fence, not  of  indoctrination,  as  before 
intimated,  is  apparent  here,  where  he 
reiterates  the  calling  and  justification 
of  God  and  the  intercession  of  Christ, 
as  proofs  that  the  disciples  were  safe. 
There  remain,  therefore,  none  to  ac- 
cuse or  to  condemn,  for  the  only  two 
beings  who  have  any  rightful  author- 
ity to  do  it  are  God  and  Christ.  God 
would  not  do  it,  for  he  is  himself  the 
Justifier  ;  and  Christ  would  not  do  it, 
for  he  is  the  Intercessor.  1  John 
ii.  1.  If  any  tiling  seems  assured  in 
the  Scriptures,  it  is  the  distinct  per- 
sonality of  Christ  as  separate  from 
God,  as  one  being  is  separate  from 
another ;  and  this  is  here  represented 
as  extending  to  the  future  world,  as 
well  as  the  present  state. 

35-39.  The  Apostle  here  rises  into 
a  strain  of  the  loftiest  and  most  im- 
passioned eloquence,  in  describing  the 
certainty  of  the  Christian's  hope,  and 
the  immortaUty  of  the  love  of  God  to 
him,  as  manifested  by  Jesus  Christ. 
He  presents  the  thought  first  in 
an  interrogative  form, —  Who  shall 
separate  us  ?  and  then  in  a  positive 
form, — Nothing  shall  separate  us  from 
this  great  fountain  of  life  and  happi- 
ness.—  The  love  of  Christ,  i.  e.  the  love 
which  Christ  had  for  his  disciples,  not 
the  love  which  liis  disciples  had  for 


him.  He  could  not  have  spoken 
either  with  that  ecstasy  or  that  as- 
surance of  the  feeble  and  fluctuating 
sentiments  of  men  that  he  could  of 
the  ovei'flowing  mercies  of  God,  and 
the  eternal  love  of  Jesus.  It  must  be 
a  coal  from  the  altar  of  heaven,  not  a 
spark  of  human  striking,  that  could 
kindle  and  that  could  justify  so  splen- 
did a  flame  of  enthusiasm.  —  Shall 
tribulation,  or  distress,  &c.  The  items 
of  trial  here  enumerated  were  the 
ones  to  which  the  Christians  of  that 
day  were  especially  exposed.  But 
they  were  bound  to  live  through  them 
all,  and  retain  their  hold  of  the  great 
treasure  which  had  been  vouchsafed 
to  them  in  this  heavenly  love  and 
compassion  of  Jesus  and  of  the  Father. 
—  As  it  is  loritten.  Ps.  xliv.  22.  The 
old  times  were  made  good,  and,  as  in 
the  days  of  Jewish  persecution  and 
slaughter,  so  now  the  faithful  few 
were  obliged  to  face  danger  and 
death.  It  was  not  many  years  after 
this  was  written,  that  Paul  himself 
suffered  martyrdom  at  Rome  under 
Nero,  the  Emperor,  by  being  be- 
headed, according  to  the  most  re- 
hable  traditions,  and  thus  encoun- 
tered the  fate  which  he  had  long 
foreseen  was  in  store  for  him. 

37.  More  than  conquerors.  So  far 
from  being  defeated  by  these  adver- 
sities and  trials,  they  only  call  forth 
a  more  unflinching  courage,  and  win 
for  us  a  greater  victory.     Through 


IX.] 


TO   Tin-:   KOMANS. 


157 


38  that  loved  us.  For  I  am  persuaded,  that  neither  death,  nor  life, 
nor  angels,  nor  princii)alities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor 

39  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall 
be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord. 

CHAPTER    IX. 

The  Divine  Sovereic/nfy  in  the  Rejection  of  the  Jews  and  the  Choice  of  the  Gentiles 
defended  on  Ilistorical  Inferences  from  the  Old  Testament. 

I  SAY  (he  truth  in  Christ,  I  lie  not,  my  conscience  also  bearing  me 


this  love  of  Him  who  died  for  us,  we 
die  for  Hun,  and  repay  martyrdom 
with  martyrdom,  and  cross  with  cross. 
38,  39.  Phil.  i.  6 ;  1  Tim.  i.  12.  But 
he  was  not  content  to  repudiate  the 
suspicion  that  any  of  the  peculiar 
trials  and  sorrows  of  the  Christian 
world  at  that  time  could  shake  their 
hold  upon  this  heavenly  love ;  he  chal- 
lenges the  whole  creation  to  deprive 
them  of  the  boon.  He  darts  from 
earth  to  heaven,  from  time  to  eter- 
nity, from  life  to  death,  and  calls 
upon  worlds  above  worlds,  and  cre- 
ations beyond  creations,  to  produce 
any  cause  potent  enough  to  tear  away 
this  eternal  pillar  of  faith  and  hope, 
the  love  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ  to- 
wards mankind.  He  appealed  to 
mighty  agents ;  he  rose  to  angels  and 
archangels ;  he  dared  the  visible  and 
invisible;  for  nothing  could  be  so 
strong,  so  living,  so  lasting,  so  preva- 
lent and  victorious,  as  this  Eternal 
Mercy.  We  believe  it,  we  know  it. 
All  things  declare  it  in  heaven  and 
earth ;  and  two  thousand  years  of 
Chiistianity  since  these  words  were 
written  have  rolled  up  an  ever- 
accumulating  amount  of  testimony  to 
their  truth,  have  multiplied  million- 
fold  their  witnesses,  and  peopled  this 
world  and  the  world  to  come  with 
the  examples  of  their  beauty  and 
power.  AVhat  Paul  prophesied  his- 
tory has  fulfilled ;  and  prophecy  and 
history  now  clasp  hands  for  a  yet 
14 


more  glorious  future.  The  spirit  of 
tliis  passage  gives  assurance  of  the 
final  triumph  of  the  Gospel  in  this 
world,  and  it  inspires  a  calm  and  a 
strong  assurance  that  all  will  event- 
ually be  won  to  this  omnipotent 
love  in  the  world  to  come. 

A  poor,  simple  man  once  said : 
"  I  have  lost  all  my  property  ;  it  is  all 
gone.  I  have  lost  all  my  relations ; 
my  last  son  is  dead.  I  have  lost  my 
hearing  and  my  eyesight.  I  am  all 
alone,  old  and  poor ;  but  it  aU  makes 
no  difference.  Christ  never  grows 
old,  Christ  never  is  poor,  Christ  never 
dies,  and  Christ  never  will  forsake 
me."*- 

CHAPTER  IX. 

This  is  one  of  the  hardest  passages 
to  interpret  probably  in  the  whole 
Scriptures ;  for  the  subject  treated  of 
is  the  very  purpose  and  will  of  God 
in  his  government,  providence,  and 
grace  in  that  dark  and  debatable 
region  where  human  freedom  borders 
upon  the  Divine  decrees.  Man  pro- 
poses, God  disposes.  God's  kingdom 
ruleth  over  all,  but  man  has  a  king- 
dom within  a  kingdom.  Man  wills, 
acts,  thinks,  chooses,  but  the  very 
faculties  by  which  he  performs  all 
these  decisive  acts  were  originated, 
planned,  decreed,  moulded,  and  col- 
ored by  the  Supreme  Power.  All 
this  world   is  made   by  the  Blessed 

*Mrg.  Stowe. 


IQQ  THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL  [Chap. 

witness  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  I  have  great  heaviness  and  con-  2 


God,  and  in  no  part  of  it  has  any 
evil  Demiurgus  had  a  finger.  How, 
then,  shall  we  account  for  evil  and 
sin  ?  Why  are  we  to  be  blamed  for 
the  action  of  faculties  and  elements 
which  we  had  no  option  in  bringing 
into  existence,  or  shaping  into  form 
and  destiny  ?  Or,  as  the  Apostle 
puts  it  in  the  mouth  of  an  objector, 
AVhy  doth  he  yet  find  fault  ?  Is  not 
God  himself  the  author  of  sin  ?  How 
can  man  be  finite  and  be  at  the  same 
time  responsible  ? 

These  and  other  wild  speculations 
like  them  may  not  be  capable  of  being 
refuted  by  anything  hke  a  demon- 
strative argument,  but  they  are  capa- 
ble of  a  fair  moral  answer,  and  of 
being  sufficiently  relieved  and  ex- 
plained for  all  the  practical  purposes 
of  cordial  duty  and  of  entire  confi- 
dence in  the  goodness  and  wisdom  of 
the  Supreme  Being. 

The  sovereignty  of  God  is  a  great 
and  glorious  truth.  To  decree  all 
things  is  of  the  very  nature  of  God, 
who  would  not  be  God  if  he  did  not 
originate  and  determine  all  things, 
endow  all  beings  with  their  pecuhar 
nature,  arrange  for  them  their  abode 
and  their  culture,  and  mark  out  for 
them  their  general  course  and  the 
boundaries  of  their  being.  The  decrees 
of  God,  therefore,  are  not  an  abuse, 
but  a  legitimate  and  necessary  use  of 
infinite  power  as  it  respects  God; 
and  they  are  not  a  terror,  but  a 
mercy,  as  it  respects  man,  for  they 
are  his  only  shield  against  blank  night, 
and  chaos,  and  annihilation.  The 
single  anxious  question  is,  whether 
these  decrees  are  just  or  unjust, 
benevolent  or  cruel,  or  indifferent? 
Is  the  election  of  God  partial  or  un- 
partial,  has  he  or  has  he  not  respect 
of  persons,  or  are  his  decrees  capri- 
cious, and  does  he  treat  liis  creatures 
at  random  ? 

The  point  being  settled,  then,  that 


God,  to  be  God,  must  be  a  Deter- 
miner and  a  Decreer  of  all  things  in 
general,  we  come  to  this  second  stage 
of  the  inquiry :  Whether  the  character 
of  his  decrees,  so  far  as  we  know 
them,  is  such  as  comports  with  his 
justice,  honor,  and  benevolence.  The 
sources  of  our  information  are  Life, 
Consciousness,  Observation,  History, 
and  Scripture.  Now  all  these  wit- 
nesses convey  to  an  attentive  and 
candid  mind  a  broad  and  firm  im- 
pression of  the  righteousness  and 
benignity  of  the  Infinite  Disposer,  as 
generally  viewed  in  the  present  world. 
The  numerous  Scripture  declarations 
of  the  goodness  and  truth  of  God  are 
not  merely  the  ejaculations  of  pious 
and  trusting  hearts,  but  the  truest 
and  most  profound  utterances  of  the 
reality  of  things ;  a  just  vindication 
of  the  ways  of  God  to  man,  when 
they  have  been  subjected  to  the  most 
piercing  intellectual  and  moral  ex- 
amination. There  is,  in  fact,  only 
just  that  amount  of  darkness  resting 
upon  the  subject  of  the  moral  gov- 
ernment of  God  which  we  ought  to 
expect  from  its  infinite  and  eternal 
character,  and  from  our  very  limited 
apprehension  of  its  nature  and  oper- 
ations. This  certainly  could  not  be 
the  universe  of  the  Almighty,  if  our 
puny  faculties,  born  yesterday,  could 
grasp  with  success  its  vast  problems, 
and  explain  the  uses  of  all  things. 
We  find  it  a  somewhat  difficult  task 
to  comprehend  a  new  pattern  of  the 
steam-engine,  or  to  trace  all  the  parts 
and  bearings  of  a  watch  or  a  clock. 
Shall  we  not,  puzzled  with  tilings 
finite,  learn  to  reverence  and  wait, 
rather  than  to  hastily  prejudge,  or 
unfilially  complain,  as  it  regards  the 
boundless  questions  of  a  system  of 
things  whose  Maker  is  God,  whose 
space  is  Infinity,  whose  duration  is 
Eternity,  and  whose  agents  and  sub- 
jects are  innumerable  creatures  of 


IX.]  TO    THE   ROMANS.  159 

3  tiuual  sorrow  in  my  heart.     For  I  could  wish  that  myself  were 


life  and  progress,  from  the  worm  to 
the  seraph  ? 

Thus  comprehensively  viewed,  we 
find  not  one  word  in  this  ninth  chap- 
ter of  Romans,  respecting  the  Divine 
sovereignty  and  decrees,  that  is  not 
taught  us  in  all  our  human  life,  and 
that  is  not  perfectly  harmonious  with 
the  absolute  eternal  perfection  of  God, 
and  with  his  just  and  benevolent  deal- 
ing with  his  finite  and  dependent 
creatures.  We  rise  from  the  perusal 
of  Paul's  reasoning  in  this  chapter, 
not  only  with  Bossuet's  famous  ejacu- 
lation, "  God  is  great ! "  but  with  the 
more  peculiarly  Christian  conclusion, 
"  God  is  good ! " 

As  if  aware  that  he  might  by  his 
reasoning  in  the  last  chapter  have 
given  offence  to  his  Jewish  brethren, 
and  desirous  to  win  them  to  a  candid 
judgment  of  his  reasoning,  he  turns 
to  them  with  the  warmest  and  most 
patriotic  devotion,  and  commemorates 
the  great  glories  of  the  Hebrew  com- 
monwealth. But  liis  regard  for  their 
past  renown  as  the  people  of  God 
did  not  bhnd  his  eyes  to  their  ap- 
proaching fate,  of  which  he  warns 
them  now  and  which  he  proceeds  to 
show  by  an  historical  argument  was  in 
harmony  with  the  past  dealings  of 
God  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
the  history  of  Moses  and  Pharaoh, 
and  the  prophecies  of  Hosea  and 
Isaiah.  Out  of  the  mouth  of  their 
own  history,  therefore,  he  adduces  the 
arguments  that  would  condemn  them 
and  justify  God  in  his  rejection  of 
Israel,  and  his  adoption  of  the  Gen- 
tiles in  the  new  Church  of  Christ.  It 
was  a  special  argument  to  the  Jews, 
argamentum  ad  hominem,  and  could 
be  but  imperfectly  understood  except 
by  that  people ;  but  the  principles 
which  he  here  discusses  are  applica- 
ble to  all  cases,  and  to  every  age  of 
the  world. 

Three   additional   preliminary  re- 


marks are  all  that  are  required.  One 
is,  that  it  is  primarily  an  election  to 
external  privileges  and  advantages 
which  is  here  discussed,  and  only 
secondarily  and  as  resulting  there- 
from by  the  use  or  abuse  of  said  privi- 
leges and  advantages,  that  the  moral 
and  spiritual  state  and  character  come 
within  the  reach  of  the  predestinat- 
ing agency  of  God.  Jacob  was  chosen 
and  Esau  rejected,  but  Esau  seems  to 
have  been  cpiite  as  good  a  man  as 
Jacob,  perhaps  better.  Many  Jews, 
although  of  the  privileged  race,  were 
notoriously  bad ;  while  many  of  the 
Gentiles,  though  less  favored  in  ex- 
ternal advantages,  attained  to  a  su- 
perior spiritual  life. 

The  next  remark  is,  that  the  elec- 
tion here  spoken  of  is  by  no  means  a 
final  decision  of  the  everlasting  des- 
tiny of  the  parties  concerned.  There 
is  not  a  word,  or  a  syllable,  intimating 
that  the  election  of  Jacob  instead  of 
Esau,  insured  the  eternal  salvation 
of  one,  or  prejudiced  the  eternal  sal- 
vation of  the  other.  On  the  con- 
trary, to  them  who  received  most 
would  the  demand  be  made  for  most 
in  return.  The  condition  of  the  Jews, 
w^ho  so  largely  rejected  Christ,  and  of 
the  Gentiles,  who  so  often  accepted 
him,  showed  that,  even  as  respected 
their  spiritual  state  here,  the  one  by 
not  being  of  the  elect  was  not  cut  off 
from  Gospel  privileges,  nor  the  other 
necessarily  included  in  its  blessings ; 
then  how  much  less  hkely  it  was,  that 
it  sealed  their  eternal  fate  ! 

The  third  remark  is,  that  the  elec- 
tion spoken  of  in  this  chapter  is  of  a 
piece  with  the  whole  system  of  Divine 
Providence  and  human  hfe.  Elec- 
tion to  religion  is  like  election  to  art, 
to  business,  to  literature,  to  clime,  and 
class,  and  color,  and  the  period  of  the 
world,  and  state  of  society,  in  which 
each  individual  is  born.  He  who  de- 
creed that  Moses  should  be  the  leader 


160  THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL  [Chap. 

accursed  from  Christ  for  my  brethren,  mj  kmsmen  according  .to 


of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  Pharaoh 
king  of  Egypt,  decreed  that  Raphael 
should  be  a  great  painter,  and  Goethe 
a  poet,  and  Channing  a  divine.  The 
justification,  therefore,  of  the  vanety 
of  gifts,  talents,  and  positions  in  hu- 
man life,  and  its  consistency  with  a 
just  and  benevolent  Providence,  are 
based  on  the  same  ground  as  the 
selection  of  the  Jewish  or  the  Chris- 
tian Church  out  of  the  miUions  of 
mankind.  The  only  proviso  in  either 
case  that  is  necessary  as  a  caveat 
against  injustice,  is  that  temporary 
conditions  and  privileges  shall  not  be 
decisive  of  eternal  consequences. 

1-5.  These  verses  contain  a  spe- 
cies of  deprecatory  introduction  to 
an  argument,  in  which  Jewish  history 
itself  would  be  employed  to  vindicate 
the  choice  of  the  Gentiles  and  the 
rejection  of  the  Jews,  as  it  respected 
the  Christian  Church. 

1.  In  Christ,  as  a  Christian. —  Cun- 
science,  as  a  conscientious  Christian. 
—  Holy  Ghost,  as  a  conscientious  and 
inspireol  Christian.  The  Apostle,  as 
usual,  does  not  directly  state,  in  so 
many  words,  the  point  about  which 
he  is  so  deeply  agitated,  but  leaves  it 
to  be  inferred  that  it  is  the  condition 
of  his  countrymen  the  Jews,  as  it  re- 
gards their  attitude  towards  the  Chris- 
tian Church. 

2.  Norton  translates  this  verse, 
"  that  I  have  great  grief  and  con- 
tinual pain  in  my  heart,"  &c.  2  Cor. 
xii.  15.  "  So  fervent  a  brotherly 
love,  which  affectionately  embraced 
in  the  Spirit,  as  fellow-members,  all 
who  are  engrafted  into  Christ,  which, 
eager  to  unite  the  whole  globe  into 
one  Church  of  the  Saviour,  found  not 
space  enough  for  the  vehemence  of 
its  operation  in  all  the  region  from 
Jerusalem  to  Illyricum,  Rom.  xv. 
19-23,  could  not  but  glow  to  incor- 
porate into  the  Lord's  Church  the 
peculiar  people  which  in  its  maternal 


bosom  had  borne  the  germ  of  that 
Church,  and  brought  it  forth  to  the 
world." 

3.  For  I  could  icish  that  myself  icere 
accursed  from  Christ,  &c.  There  are 
two  points  in  doubt  among  the  com- 
mentators ;  one  is  what  was  the  nature 
of  the  Apostle's  wish,  and  the  other, 
whether  it  was  proper  for  him  to 
make  the  wish  he  did.  As  to  the 
first,  there  can  be  but  little  doubt 
that  he  used,  and  intended  to  use,  a 
very  strong  expression,  signifying  his 
willingness  to  do  or  suffer  any  thing 
right  and  reasonable  for  the  sake  of 
recovering  his  brethren  from  their 
unbelief  Lardner  quotes  and  ap- 
proves Photius  as  remai-king,  that 
the  Apostle  does  not  say,  "  I  wish," 
but  "  I  could  wish,  if  it  were  fit,  if  it 
were  lawful,  and  if  my  fall  and  misery 
might  be  beneficial  to  others,"  &c. 
The  word  here  rendered  accursed  is 
a  noun  in  the  Greek,  meaning  an 
offering,  or  gift  to  the  gods,  such  as 
it  was  customary  to  suspend  in  the 
heathen  temples  ;  and  hence  the 
secondary  meanings  of  devoted,  con- 
secrated, or  given  over  to  death,  or 
accursed,  gradually  going  so  far  as  to 
mean  almost  the  opposite  to  the  first 
sense.  Acts  xxiii.  14  ;  1  Cor.  xii.  3  ; 
xvi.  22 ;  Gal.  i.  8,  9.  Margin  reads, 
"  separated."  He  had  just  spoken,  in 
chap.  viii.  38,  39,  of  Avhat  had  no 
power  to  separate  him  from  the  lov^ 
of  God,  death,  life,  height,  depth,  &c. ; 
but  he  now  seems  to  say,  that  if  any- 
thing could  do  such  an  almost  impos- 
sible thing,  it  would  be  his  desire  by 
such  a  perdition  to  draw  the  Jews  to 
the  feet  of  Jesus.  Similar  expres- 
sions are  elsewhere  found,  as  Moses 
says  with  deep  feeling,  Exod.  xxxii. 
32  :  "  Yet  now,  if  Thou  wilt  forgive 
their  sin :  and  if  not,  blot  me,  I  pray 
thee,  out  of  thy  book  which  thou  hast 
written."  Elsewhere  Christ  himself 
is  represented  as  having  been  made 


IX.]  TO  THE  ROMANS.  161 

4  the  flesh :  who  are  Israelites ;  to  whom  peHaineth  the  adoption, 


"a  curse  for  us,"  Gal.  iii.  13;  and 
his  disciples  are  taught  to  be  willing 
to  "  lay  down  their  lives  "  for  their 
brethren,  1  John  iii.  16.  It  is  simply, 
therefore,  to  be  viewed  as  a  strong 
expression  of  Paul's  wilHngness  to 
suffer  anything  and  everything  to 
win  his  brethren  to  Christianity.  He 
did  not  stop  to  measure  terms,  he 
took  the  strongest  word  he  could  find, 
accursed^  without  intending  probably 
to  say,  however,  dogmatically  and 
literally,  as  some  critics  would  force 
him  to  do,  that  he  was  willing  to  be 
condemned  eternally  himself,  in  order 
to  save  the  Jews.  For  he  was  not 
talking  law  or  mathematics,  but  pour- 
ing out  a  stream  of  glowing  and  im- 
passioned thought.  It  was  not  a  sup- 
posable  case,  that  his  condemnation 
would  work  such  an  advantage  to  his 
brethren.  He  makes  the  expression, 
because  in  that  way  he  could  best 
describe  how  much  he  longed  to  ac- 
complish their  conversion,  and  how 
dear  they  were  to  his  heart.  The 
Ai-abians  are  quoted  as  using  strong 
language  of  affection  for  a  friend, 
"  Let  my  soul  be  a  ransom  for  thee," 
and  in  •  the  Talmuds  of  the  Jews  is  a 
hke  expression.  As  it  regards  the 
propriety  of  his  wish,  it  is  justified  by 
his  intense  and  ovei-flowing  love.  As 
Fenelon  remarks,  "  He  feels  every- 
thing with  an  infinite  purity  and 
cpiickness;  he  bears  in  his  heart  all 
the  churches ;  the  whole  universe  is 
too  narrow  for  this  heart ;  he  rejoices ; 
he  is  afflicted;  he  is  an^^ry;  he  is 
moved  with  tenderness ;  his  heart  is 
as  if  the  seat  of  all  the  strongest  pas- 
sions. He  humbles  himself;  he  mag- 
nifies himself;  he  has  the  authority 
of  a  father,  and  the  tenderness  of  a 
mother ;  he  loves  with  a  jealous  love ; 
he  wishes  to  be  anathema  for  his 
children." 

4,  5.  Norton  translates  as  follows : 
"  Who  are  Israelites,  whose  was  the 
U  *\ 


glory  of  being  adopted  as  sons,  whose 
were  the  covenants,  and  the  law,  and 
the  service  of  the  temple,  and  the 
promises,  and  from  among  whom  the 
Messiah  was  to  be  born ;  he  who  was 
over  all,  being  God  blessed  for  ever. 
Amen."  The  Apostle  enumerates 
the  glorious  distinctions  of  the  Jewish 
people  ;  they  were  the  sons  of  Israel, 
and  the  cliildren  of  God ;  the  glory 
of  the  Shekinah  had  stood  over  their 
temple ;  1  Sam.  iv.  21 ;  the  earlier 
and  later  covenants,  the  Law,  the 
temple-service,  and  the  promises, 
then  the  glory  of  such  an  ancestry, 
and  more  than  all,  the  birth  of  the 
Messiah,  were  all  theirs.  He  then 
concludes  with  a  doxology,  or  an  as- 
cription of  praise  to  God,  as  if  moved 
to  gratitude  while  recounting  all  these 
favors  of  the  Heavenly  Benefactor. 

The  last  clause  is  very  generally 
adduced  by  the  orthodox  commenta- 
.tors,  as  conclusive  proof  that  Christ 
was  God  over  all,  blessed  for  ever. 
But  the  following  reasons  are  entirely 
subversive  of  such  an  inference  :  — 

1st.  There  is  a  doxology  here  at  all 
events,  and  the  Apostle  was  not  ac- 
customed to  offer  doxologies  to  Christ, 
but  to  his  Father  and  our  Father,  and 
to  his  God  and  our  God.  Rom.  i. 
25  ;  2  Cor.  i.  3  ;  xi.  31 ;  Eph.  i.  3. 

2d.  Again,  Paul  was  too  good  a 
reasoner,  after  speaking  of  Christ  in 
relation  to  his  fleshly  descent,  which 
he  had  just  done,  ver.  5,  to  introduce 
the  inconsistency  of  making  him  at 
the  same  time  the  eternal  and  un- 
created God. 

3d.  Tischendorf  and  other  able 
critics  edit  the  sentence  with  a  full 
period  after  came^  and  thus  make  the 
last  clause  an  entirely  independent 
doxology.  "  God,  who  is  over  aU,  be 
blessed  for  ever.     Amen." 

4th.  Nothing  could  have  been  more 
mal  apropos  to  the  Apostle's  purpose 
of  convincing  the  Jews  of  the  truth 


162 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chai*. 


and  the  glory,  and  the  covenants,  and  the  givmg  of  the  law,  and 
the  service  of  God,  and  the  promises  ;  whose  are  the  fathers,  and  of  5 
whom  as  concerning  the  flesh  Christ  came,  who  is  over  all,  God 
blessed  for  ever.     Amen.     Xot  as  though  the  word  of  God  hath   6 
taken  none  effect.    For  they  are  not  all  Israel  which  are  of  Israel : 
neither,  because  they  are  the  seed  of  Abraham,  are  they  all  cliil-    7 
dren  :  but.  In  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called.     That  is,  They  which    s 
are  the  children  of  the  flesh,  these  are  not  the  children  of  God :  but 
the  cliildren  of  the  promise  are  counted  for  the  seed.     For  this  is   9 
the  word  of  promise  :  At  this  time  will  I  come,  and  Sarah  shall  have 
a  son.     And  not  only  this ;  but  when  Rebecca  also  had  conceived  lo 


of  the  Gospel,  than  to  declare  that 
Jesus,  who  was  crucified  on  the  cross 
of  Calvary,  was  the  Eternal  God, 
who  was  over  all  things,  blessed  for 
ever.  Even  if  that  doctrine  had  been 
true,  he  was  too  good  a  logician  not 
to  seize  a  more  favorable  moment  to 
announce  it.  He  had  already  a  most 
difficult  task  on  his  hands,  to  wliich 
he  devotes  his  whole  strength,  and 
he  would  not  have  needlessly  com- 
plicated the  embarrassment  of  his 
position  by  asserting  to  the  Jews  that 
Christ  was  very  God. 

5th.  A  pretty  conclusive  argimient 
against  the  use  now  extracted  by 
Trinitarians  from  this  clause  is  the 
fact,  that,  in  the  Arian  controversy 
about  the  Trinity,  this  text  was  not 
adduced  in  its  support.  This  fact 
clearly  indicates  the  earlier  and  purer 
mind  of  the  Church  on  the  subject, 
when  Platonism  and  Orientahsm  had 
not  yet  entirely  overgrown  the  fair 
fabric  of  Christianity. 

6,  7.  It  would  be  the  ready  objec- 
tion of  the  Jews  to  Paul's  doctrine, 
that,  if  the  Gentiles  were  admitted 
into  the  Christian  Church  on  the 
same  footing  as  the  Jews,  then  the 
promise  of  God  had  failed.  He  re- 
plies, By  no  means ;  for  Israeli  tes  are 
not  all  children  of  Abraham,  nor  are 
all  the  children  of  Abi-aham  Israelites. 
God  is  adopting  no  new  and  unheard 


of  principle,  but  one  as  old  as  the 
earliest  times.  The  selection  he  made 
of  Isaac  and  his  seed  out  of  all  the 
children  of  Abraham,  is  similar  to  his 
estabhshment  of  the  Christian  Church 
now,  independently  of  the  limits  of 
Jews  or  Gentiles.  The  emphatic 
word  is  Isaac.  Not  the  whole  family 
of  even  the  patriarch  Abraham  were 
included  in  the  promise,  but  only 
Isaac  and  his  line.  So,  because  they 
were  Jews,  it  did  not  follow  that  all 
would  become  Christians  and  inherit 
the  fullest  promises  of  God.  Gen, 
xxi.  12;  John  viii.  37-39. 

8,  9.  That  is,  or  that  is  equivalent 
to  savdng.  Gal.  iv.  23,  28.  Fleshly 
descent  did  not  avail  even  in  the 
most  memorable  instance,  in  which, 
if  ever,  it  might  be  pleaded,  that  of 
the  great  father  of  the  faithful.  But 
only  the  children  of  the  promise  Avere 
included  in  the  census  of  election. — 
Sarah.  This  word  is  emphatic.  Gen. 
xviii.  10.  She  was  the  selected  woman 
whose  posterity  were  to  leu  the 
religious  movements  of  the  ages. 

10-13.  Gen.  XXV.  21,  23.  In  order 
to  make  out  an  even  more  notable 
case  of  temporal  adoption  and  rejec- 
tion, he  cites  the  instance  of  the  very 
children  of  tlie  favored  Isaac  and 
grandchildren  of  the  favored  Sarah, 
—  children,  too,  of  one  parentage,  of 
Isaac  and  Rebecca,  and  not  of  more, 


IX.] 


TO   THE  EOMANS. 


163 


11  by  one,  even  by  our  father  Isaac,  (for  the  children  being  not  yet 
born,  neither  having  done  any  good  or  evil,  that  the  purpose  of  God 
according  to  election  might  stand,  not  of  works,  but  of  him  that 

12  calleth,)  it  was  said  unto  her,  The  elder  shall  serv*  the  younger. 

13  As  it  is  written,  Jacob  have  I  loved,  but  Esau  have  I  hated. 

14  What  shall  we  say  then  ?  Is  there  unrighteousness  with  God  ?  God 

15  forbid.  For  he  saith  to  Moses,  I  will  have  mercy  on  whom  I  will 
have  mercy,  and  I  will  have  compassion  on  whom  I  will  have 

16  compassion.     So  then  it  is  not  of  him  that  willeth,  nor  of  him  that 

17  runneth,  but  of  God  that  showeth  mercy.  For  the  Scripture  saith 
unto  Pharaoh,  Even  for  this  same  purpose  have  I  raised  thee  up. 


as  in  the  case  of  the  children  of 
Abraham  and  his  wives ;  one  child, 
Jacob,  was  taken,  and  the  other, 
Esaii,  was  left.  It  certainly  was  not 
moral  character  that  decided  the  elec- 
tion, for  it  took  place  before  the  chil- 
dren were  born  or  had  made  any 
choice  of  either  good  or  evil.  So  that 
the  plan  of  Divine  selection  was  illus- 
trated, and  it  was  seen  that  the  will 
of  God,  not  the  works  of  man,  was 
the  determining  cause.  —  Jacob  have 
I  loved,  &e.  A  Hebraism ;  as  much 
as  to  say,  I  have  preferred  Jacob  to 
Esau,  the  younger  instead  of  the  elder, 
contrary  to  the  usual  law  of  primogeni- 
ture. Not  on  account  of  moral  or 
spiritual  character  specially,  for  in 
many  respects  Esau  was  superior  to 
Jacob ;  but  "  even  so.  Father,  for  so 
it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight."  But  all 
these  cases  were  only  illustrations  of 
temporal  election  to  privileges,  and 
they  did  not  necessitate  any  final  in- 
justice or  eternal  decision  of  salvation 
or  condemnation.  There  is  no  injus- 
tice done  to  an  Indian  because  he  is 
not  made  an  EngUshman,  nor  to  me 
because  I  was  not  created  a  Milton. 
I  have  reason  to  rejoice  and  be  thank- 
ful that  I  was  created  at  all,  nor  stand 
at  bay  on  the  terms  of  my  position, 
higher  or  lower,  on  the  scale  of  cre- 
ation ;  else  I  might  object  that  I  was 
not  made  an  angel  instead  of  a  man, 


or  a  god  instead  of  an  angel.  The 
spirit  of  criticism  and  complaint,  once 
let  loose,  would  finally  be  contented 
with  nothing  short  of  infinitude  and 
perfection. 

14-16.  Ex.  xxxiil.  19.  But  the 
objector  may  inquire,  whether  such  a 
course  is  compatible  on  the  part  of 
God  with  his  Infinite  perfection.  Paul 
makes  an  answer  to  the  Jews  espe- 
cially by  quoting  their  revered  law- 
giver, whose  words  always  had  the 
greatest  weight  with  them.  This  prin- 
ciple of  selection  was  early  promul- 
gated by  the  words  of  God  to  Moses. 
God  is  not  therefore  unjust  in  reject- 
ing the  Jews  and  admitting  the  Gen- 
tiles to  the  new  kingdom;  for  he 
declared  long  ago  to  Moses,  your 
leader,  that  he  should  do  precisely 
the  thing  you  are  now  complain- 
ing of,  and  that  he  was  under  no 
restrictions,  and  should  raise  up  and 
ordain  to  new  and  greater  privileges, 
and  the  moral  and  spiritual  results 
flowing  therefrom  such  as  he  chose  in 
his  righteous  wisdom.  Ps.  cxxl.  1  con- 
tains, as  has  been  observed,  a  good 
comment  on  ver.  16. 

17,  18.  The  general  testimony  to 
Moses,  ver.  15,  Is  heightened  by  the 
memorable  historical  example  of  the 
chief  enemy  of  the  Israelites.  There 
was  a  fearful  suggestion  to  the  chosen 
people  In  citing  Pharaoh,  as  if  to  say, 


164 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


that  I  miglit  show  my  power  in  thee,  and  that  my  name  might 
be  declared  throughout  all  the  earth.     Therefore  hath  he  mercy  i8 
on  whom  he  will  have  7nercy,  and  whom  he  wiU  he  hardeneth. 


they  had  respectively  changed  places, 
and,  instead  of  being  the  favored 
ones  of  God  as  then,  they  were  now 
in  the  station  of  the  rebellious  king, 
and  the  despised  Gentiles  were  rising 
to  their  position  of  privilege.  But 
throughout  this  whole  remarkable 
chapter,  though  the  point  of  the 
Apostle  is  to  prove  by  historical  cases 
that  the  purpose  of  God  stood  not  in 
what  man  did,  but  in  what  he  willed, 
there  yet  is  an  undertone  of  good 
works  admitted,  so  to  speak,  enough 
to  prove  that  God  has  respect  to  the 
characters  of  his  children,  if  he  have 
not  to  their  persons,  at  least  in  their 
final  destiny.  Pharaoh  became  a 
well-known  instance  of  the  retribu- 
tion of  the  Divine  government  for  his 
cruelty  and  his  injustice.  Ex.  ix.  16. 
Tholuck  says :  "  Stern  Calvinists,  such 
as  Beza,  Peter  Martyr,  Parseus,  and 
Gomar,  give  the  Apostle's  sentiments 
the  following  sense :  I  have  created 
thee,  O  Pharaoh,  to  make  of  thee  a 
vessel  of  wrath,  by  whose  perdition  I 
may  display  my  omnipotence.  Were 
it  possible  for  God  thus  to  speak  to 
man,  then  alas  for  us !  AVhat  are 
we  but  dwarfs,  that  must  be  content 
to  be  formed  by  the  hand  of  an  un- 
conquerable Cyclops,  and  broken  into 
pieces  again,  as  toys,  for  his  amuse- 
ment. The  points  which  the  exposi- 
tors and  doctrinalists  of  this  school 
have  overlooked  is,  that  we  must 
never  suppose  God  to  act  except  in 
complete  harmony  with  himself,  and 
consecpiently  with  the  whole  of  his 
attributes.  In  the  doctrine  of  abso- 
lute decrees,  however,  justice  would 
act  and  determine  without  wisdom 
and  without  love."  Query,  whether 
even  justice  were  not  violated  in 
such  a  government  as  the  one  repre- 
sented above  by  Beza  and  others, 
quite  as  much  as  wisdom  and  love. — 


All  the  earth.  The  story  of  Pharaoh's 
overthrow  was  known  to  Greek,  Latin, 
Arabian,  and  Christian  writers,  be- 
sides its  proclamation  wherever  the 
Jews  carried  their  history  abroad.  — 
And  tchom  he  tvill  he  hardeneth.  I.  e. 
God  shows  to  one  greater,  and  to 
another  less  compassion.  He  treats 
Moses  with  comparative  mercy,  and 
Pharaoh  with  comparative  harshness. 
So  some  would  paraphrase  it.  2  Sam. 
xxii.  26,  27;  Ps.  xviii.  2-6.  The 
sense  is  not  active,  but  passive.  God 
may  be  said  to  harden  the  wicked, 
because  he  may  allow  them  to  harden 
themselves,  and  they  may  even  turn 
the  instruments  of  his  mercy  into 
means  of  still  greater  depravity,  just 
as  the  miracles  of  Moses  only  seemed 
to  make  Pharaoh  still  more  perverse  ; 
though  it  could  only  be  said  in  a 
strong,  anthropomorphitic  sense,  that 
God  used  such  means  to  effect  that 
end.  Neander  well  remarks :  "When 
Paul  says,  God  hardeneth  whom  he 
will,  the  freedom  of  the  Divine  will 
in  reference  to  the  Divine  punish- 
ment is  maintained  against  the  delu- 
sion of  the  Jews,  that  their  nation 
could  not  be  an  object  of  the  Divine 
displeasure.  But  that  this  punish- 
ment should  be  conditional,  depend- 
ing on  the  criminality  of  man  as  a 
free  agent,  is  by  no  means  excluded, 
but  rather  imphed  in  the  idea  of 
hardening.'^  That  God  does  not  liter- 
ally harden  any  human  heart,  or 
tempt  any  man  to  sin,  any  more  than 
he  is  tempted  himself,  is  too  obvious 
to  require  to  be  stated.  James  i.  13, 
14.  But,  from  a  misunderstanding 
of  the  Apostle's  writings,  very  er- 
roneous ideas  respecting  the  free 
agency  and.  responsibilities  of  man, 
and  the  character  and  purposes  of 
God,  have  been  advocated  in  the 
Christian    Church,   and    have    been 


IX.1 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


165 


19  Thou  wilt  say  then  unto  me,  Why  doth  he  yet  find  fault?     For 

20  who  hath  resisted  his  will  ?  Nay,  but,  O  man,  who  art  thou  that 
repliest  against   God.      Shall  the  tiling  formed  say  to  him  that 

21  formed  it,  Why  hast  thou  made  me  thus  ?  Hath  not  the  potter 
power  over  the  clay,  of  the  same  lump  to  make  one  vessel  unto 

2-2  honor,  and  another  unto  dishonor  ?  What  if  God,  wilHng  to  show 
his  wrath,  and  to  make  his  power  known,  endured  with  much  long- 

23  suffering  the  vessels  of  wrath  fitted  to  destruction :  and  that  he 
might  make  known  the  riches  of  his  glory  on  the  vessels  of  mercy, 


stamped  with  the  alleged  sanction  of 
the  Apostle.  His  zeal  and  bold 
figurative  mind  have  supplied  just 
those  terms,  which,  being  understood 
literally,  furnish  an  ostensible  sup- 
port to  the  Augustinian  and  Calvin- 
istic  theology.  But  when  justly  in- 
terpreted, they  encourage  no  such 
views,  either  of  the  total  helplessness 
and  depravity  of  man,  or  of  the  elec- 
tion by  God  of  some  to  eternal  life, 
and  of  others  to  eternal  woe,  before 
they  Avere  born.  If  any  sentiments 
or  doctrines  are  clear,  and  habitually 
insisted  on,  both  first  and  last,  by  St. 
Paul,  they  are,  that  every  man  has 
imperative  duties  to  perform  of  faith, 
love,  and  obedience ;  and  that  God 
has  cast  off  none  beyond  the  pale  of 
his  mercy,  but  holds  open  the  door 
of  mercy  to  all,  and  that  no  fatal 
decree  bars  the  progress  of  any  soul 
to  life,  liberty,  and  heaven ;  that,  on 
the  contrary,  he  sent  his  Son  into 
the  world,  not  to  pass  sentence  of 
condemnation  upon  it,  but  that  the 
world  through  him  might  be  saved. 

19  -  21.  Isa.  xlv.  9  \  Jer.  ii.  29.  To 
this  doctrine  of  Divine  sovereignty 
objection  might  be  made  that  it  took 
away  human  responsibility,  and  that 
God  was  unreasonable  to  condemn 
his  children  when  he  had  made  and 
ordained  them  as  he  had.  Palfrey 
has  explained  it  thus:  You  cannot 
see  the  reasons  of  God  for  forming 
mankind  after  the  present  order,  not, 
as  some  erroneously  suppose,  that  he 


has  no  reasons,  but  acts  capriciously, 
but  that  yQu  could  not  understand 
those  reasons.  The  potter  has  reasons 
for  making  one  vessel  to  honor  and 
another  to  dishonor;  but  the  clay 
cannot  know  his  reasons.  The  object 
of  Paul  is  evidently  to  silence  that 
curious  and  speculative  inquiry,  that 
is  disposed  to  take  nothing  for  granted, 
but  endeavors  to  pry  into  all  the 
secrets  of  the  universe,  and  will  not 
bow  in  faith  and  hope,  and  wait  for 
the  coming  of  that  better  day*when 
the  mysteries  of  fife  will  be  cleared 
up  for  ever,  and  we  shall  know  even 
as  we  are  known.  It  was  not,  Paul 
would  teach,  in  the  line  of  this  cap- 
tious, querulous  inquiry,  that  any- 
thing good  could  be  reached,  but  in 
the  other  direction  of  faith,  of  fihal 
obedience  and  love.  In  expostulat- 
ing with  God  man  would  be  in  as 
absurd  a  position  as  the  vessel  in 
holding  a  controversy  with  the  potter. 
22-24.  Continuing  the  figure  of 
the  clay  and  the  potter,  he  makes 
the  supposition,  which,  of  course,  was 
only  a  supposition,  and  could  not  be 
a  truth,  that  God  was  willing  to  sacri- 
fice his  creatures  in  order  to  manifest 
his  power  and  glory.  But  that,  if 
that  were  the  case,  he  had  certainly 
showed  great  compassion  towards 
them  at  the  last ;  for  he  had  brought 
these  vessels  of  wrath,  as  the  Jews 
were  incHned  to  call  the  Gentiles, 
into  the  new  kingdom ;  for  it  was 
not  of  the  chosen  vessels  of  the  Jews 


166 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


which  he  had  afore  prepared  unto  glory,  even  us,  whom  he  hath  24 
called,  not  of  the  Jews  only,  but  also  of  the  Gentiles  ?    As  he  saith  25 
also  in  Hosea,  I  wiU  call  them  my  people,  which  were  not  my 
people ;  and  her  beloved,  which  was  not  beloved.     And  it  shall  26 
come  to  pass,  that  in  the  place  where  it  was  said  unto  them.  Ye  are 
not  my  people  ;  there  shall  they  be  called  the  children  of  the  living 


only  that  the  Christian  Church  was 
formed  exclusively,  but  the  vessels 
of  wrath,  fitted  to  destruction,  as 
every  predestinarian  Jew  contended, 
were  also  admitted.  The  Jews  were 
to  beware,  lest,  having  been  so  long 
vessels  of  mercy,  they  should  now 
find  ^eir  position  reversed,  and  they 
should  become  vessels  of  wrath,  and 
the  Gentiles  vessels  of  mercy  in  their 
place.  —  Endured  ivith  much  long- 
suffering^  &c.  Olshausen  truly  re- 
marks, that  he  is  disposed  to  believe 
that "  we  must  assume  that  the  Apos- 
tle intended  by  this  method  to  signify 
the  different  relation  in  which  God 
stands  to  the  good  and  the  evil,  since 
he  employs  such  different  terms  for 
the  one  from  what  he  does  for  the 
other."  (In  one,  it  is  vessels  of 
wrath  fitted  to  destruction,  —  i.  e.  by 
themselves, —  and  in  the  other,  it  is 
the  vessels  of  mercy,  wliich  he  had 
afore  prepared  unto  glory.)  For, 
Olshausen  continues,  "  there  is  some- 
thing not  only  discordant,  but  abso- 
lutely contradictory,  in  the  idea  that 
God  endures  with  much  long-suffering 
what  he  has  hunself  prepared."  Can 
anything  be  more  horrible  to  infer 
than  the  conclusion  of  Gomar,  a 
Calvinistic  critic,  that,  "when  God 
will  condemn  a  man,  he  first  creates 
sin  in  him  in  order  that,  after  he  has 
been  phmged  into  sin,  he  may  be 
justly  damned  "  ?  But  to  such  results 
does  the  bald  and  dead-letter  in- 
terpretation of  Paul's  writings  lead. 
His  Epistles  are  thus  an  armory  from 
which  every  species  of  weapon  may 
be  taken,  offensive  or  defensive,  and 


capable  of  being  used  for  evil  some- 
times as  weU  as  for  good.  It  is  evi- 
dent, throughout  this  passage  relating 
to  the  clay,  and  the  potter,  and  the 
different  vessels,  that  it  is  only  in 
relation  to  the  temporal  disposal  of 
nations  that  the  act  of  the  Divine 
sovereignty  is  spoken  of,  and  not  in 
respect  to  the  final  determination  of 
the  salvation  or  rejection  of  individ- 
uals in  the  eternal  world.  Rom.  x. 
12;  Gal.  iii.  28;  Eph.  i.  11,  12. 

25,  26.  He  proceeds  to  show  by 
the  prophets,  as  he  had  previously 
done  by  the  history  of  the  patriarchs 
and  of  Moses  their  great  lawgiver, 
that  mankind  were  appointed  to  the 
privileges  of  rehgious  truth,  not  on 
account  of  merit,  but  by  the  disposal 
of  the  Higher  Power.  Hos.  i.  10;  ii. 
23.  Tholuck  agrees  that  "  it  is  not 
the  vocation  of  individuals  into  the 
kingdom  of  grace  which  is  treated  of, 
but  that  of  entire  national  masses, 
and  so  not  of  an  absolute,  but  only 
of  such  a  conditional  decree,  on  God's 
part,  as  depends  on  faith,  conse- 
quently upon  the  bias  of  the  will."  — 
Osee^  or  Hosea,  as  it  is  printed  in 
the  better  editions  even  of  the  Eng- 
hsh  versions.  The  obsolete  spelling 
requires  to  be  corrected  throughout 
the  Enghsh  Bible.  The  original  ap- 
plication of  the  prophet's  words  in 
these  verses  was  to  the  children  of 
Israel,  that  they  would  be  restored 
from  their  fallen  and  captive  condi- 
tion, which  they  had  brought  upon 
themselves  by  their  sins.  But  the 
secondary  application  by  the  Apostle 
of  the  words  of  this  ancient  Scripture 


IX.] 


TO   THE  EOMANS. 


167 


27  God.     Esaias  also  cri^th  concerning  Israel,  Though  the  number 
of  the  cliilclren  of  Israel  be  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  a  remnant  shall 

28  be  saved :  for  he  will  finish  the  work,  and  cut  it  short  in  righteous- 
ness :  because  a  short  work  will  the  Lord  make  upon  the  earth. 

29  And  as  Esaias  said  before.  Except  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth  had  left  us 
a  seed,  we  had  been  as  Sodom,  and  been  made  like  unto  Gomorrah. 

30  Wliat  shall  we  say  then  ?     That  the  Gentiles,  which  followed  not 
after  righteousness,  have  attained  to  righteousness,  even  the  right- 


is  to  the  call  of  the  Gentiles  and  the 
rejection  of  the  Jews,  particularly 
the  former. 

27,  28.  He  adds  to  the  testimony 
of  Hosea  that  of  Isaiah  x.  22,  23. — 
Crieth.  As  if  on  a  great  occasion, 
when  he  would  arouse  and  warn  the 
careless  in  their  fancied  security.  — 
A  remnant  shall  be  saved.  I.  e.  a 
remnant  only.  It  was  not  the  first 
time,  the  Apostle  would  say,  that 
Israel  has  been  decimated  by  the 
retributions  that  have  overtaken  her 
sins.  Her  own  prophets  bore  witness 
to  the  righteous  chastisements  of 
God.  —  Finish  the  icork.  The  margin 
reads  account.  Make  a  short  or  con- 
tracted account.  —  Cut  it  short  in 
righteousness^  &c.  The  sense  of  which 
is,  that  God  would  fiilfil  his  fixed  and 
righteous  decree,  and  shortly,  speed- 
ily, bring  it  to  its  consummation  in  the 
land  of  JudaBa.  By  accommodation 
and  illustration  this  ancient  warning 
was  applicable  to  the  rejection  of  the 
Jews  from  Christian  privileges  on  ac- 
count of  their  unbelief  All  would 
not  come  into  the  new  kingdom  and 
thus  be  saved.  But  it  was  quite  im- 
pi'obable  then  that  the  Jews  would 
A'cnture  into  open  conflict  with  the 
overmastering  power  of  Rome,  and 
thus  surely  draw  down  destruction 
upon  themselves.  This  great  catas- 
trophe, however,  happened  in  a  few 
years  afterwards,  when  Vespasian 
and  Titus  wellnigh  obliterated  the 
Jews  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  and 
drove   them  forth  to  be  vagabonds 


and  exiles  in  all  the  world,  and  no 
more  to  possess  a  country,  a  city,  or 
a  holy  national  temjile  of  Divine  wor- 
ship under  the  sun. 

29.  Esaias.  Greek  for  Isaiah,  i.  9. 
The  emphasis  in  this  vei-se  is  qp  the 
word  seed.  I.  e.  unless  a  part  had 
been  preserved,  the  case  of  Israel 
would  have  been  as  bad  as  that  of 
the  corrupt  cities  of  the  plain.  The 
winnowing  process  was  not  applied 
to  the  nation  for  the  first  time  now, 
but  was  as  old  as  the  days  of  Isaiah. 
The  Jew  was  thus  answered  from 
the  books  of  his  own  faith,  and  taught 
by  the  very  prophets  in  whom  he  so 
much  trusted,  not  to  be  lulled  into  a 
deceitful  security  as  to  the  adoption 
necessarily  of  the  chosen  people  into 
the  Christian  kingdom,  for  a  day  of 
fearful  reckoning  and  expurgation 
was  at  hand. 

30,  31.  The  Gentiles,  not  having 
any  false  grounds  of  confidence,  any 
mock-righteousness,  came  readily  to 
the  method  of  righteousness  by  faith, 
as  proposed  by  the  Gospel.  AVhereas 
the  Jews,  who  had  been  trained  by  a 
system  of  Law,  became  so  addicted 
to  it  and  so  bigoted  in  their  adhesion 
to  it,  that,  when  the  higher  law- 
dispensation  came,  many  of  them 
rejected  it,  because  they  did  not  per- 
ceive that  it  was,  in  feet,  not  the 
destruction  of  their  old  Law,  but  its 
glorious  fulfilment.  It  might  then  be 
said,  perhaps,  Was  not  Gentilism 
better  than  Judaism?  and  why  was 
the  elder  dispensation  given  at  all  ? 


168 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


eousness  which  is  of  faith.     But  Israel,  which  followed  after  the  31 
law  of  righteousness,  hath  not  attained  to  the  law  of  righteousness. 
Wherefore  ?    Because  they  sought  it  not  by  faith,  but  as  it  were  by  32 
the  works  of  the  law.     For  they  stumbled  at  that  stumbling-stone. 
As  it  is  written.  Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  a  stumbling-stone  and  rock  33 
of  offence  :  and  whosoever  beheveth  on  him  shall  not  be  ashamed. 


Because  Judaism,  on  the  whole,  though 
attended  by  these  drawbacks,  was  a 
necessary  initiation  of  religious  truths 
and  institutions  in  an  idolatrous  world, 
to  prepare  the  way  for  Jesus,  —  a 
schoolmaster  to  bring  men  to  Christ. 
Jesus  would  have  made  still  less  ad- 
vancement of  his  kingdom  in  Greece 
than  in  Judaea.  As  it  was,  the  first 
churches  in  Gentile  cities  were  chiefly 
Jewish  in  their  materials,  and  Moses 
and  the  prophets  furnished  the  stock 
on  which  the  Gospel  ingrafted  its 
scions,  and  commenced  the  growth  of 
new  spiritual  fruits  and  the  promise 
of  a  fresh  spring-time  of  humanity. 
Neander  acutely  observes,  —  and  I 
quote  him  because  liis  orthodoxy  is 
unquestioned,  —  that  such  language 
as  is  used  in  these  verses  "  by  no 
means  imphes  that  the  conduct  of 
men  makes  no  difference  in  the  im- 
partation  of  grace,  but  exactly  the 
contrary ;  for  he  thus  expresses  the 
hinderance  to  the  reception  of  the 
Gospel  by  the  Jews,  arising  from  the 
direction  of  their  minds,  from  the 
state  of  their  hearts ;  namely,  that  a 
confidence  in  their  own  '  willing  and 
running'  prevented  their  conscious- 
ness of  their  need  of  redemption, 
while  those  classes  of  heathens  among 
whom  the  Gospel  was  first  propa- 
gated were  more  easily  led  to  em- 
brace it,  because  they  indulged  in  no 
such  false  confidence." 

32,  33,  And  how  did  this  tremen- 
dous moral  lapse  take  place,  but  by 
the  JeAvs  pursuing  a  wrong  course, 
swerving  from  the  early  spirit  of 
their  religion,  which  was  conceived 
and    brought    forth    in    faith,  —  for 


Abraham  was  a  man  of  superlative 
faith,  and  in  faith  found  his  nght- 
eousness  ?  They  had  gone  in  quest 
of  a  legal,  moral  righteousness,  not 
animated  by  the  higher  sentiments 
and  aspirations  of  the  soul ;  and  they 
therefore  became  dry,  hard,  and 
bigoted,  and  cut  themselves  off  from 
the  heavenly  sources  of  spiritual  life 
and  growth.     Isa.  Iviii.  2,  3. 

"  Bound  on  a  Toyage  of  awful  length, 
Through  dangers  little  known, 
A  stranger  to  superior  strength, 
Man  vainly  trusts  his  own. 

"  Eut  oars  alone  can  ne'er  prevail 
To  reach  the  distant  coast ; 
The  breath  of  Heaven  must  swell  the  sail, 
Or  all  the  toil  is  lost." 

—  Tliat  Stumbling-stone.  The  doc- 
trine of  a  crucified  Messiah  was  in 
the  way  of  the  Jews  accepting  Chris- 
tianity ;  for  they  were  in  expectation 
of  a  temporal  kingdom,  and  they 
could  not  brook  the  idea  of  the 
humiliation  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
born  in  a  manger,  living  as  a  car- 
penter till  he  entered  on  his  ministry, 
poor  and  lowly  and  unattended  with 
worldly  pomp,  and  dying  at  last  on  the 
ignominious  cross  of  Calvary.  Such 
a  life,  no  matter  how  devout,  lovely, 
or  benevolent  it  might  be,  clashed  at 
every  point  with  their  most  cherished 
notions,  and  crushed  their  fondest 
hopes.  Luke  ii.  34  ;  Acts  iv.  1 1 ;  1 
Cor.  i.  23. — ^4^  it  is  written.  Isa.  viii. 
14  ;  xxviii.  16.  The  quotation  is  made 
from  both  texts.  Matt.  xxi.  42.  Prob- 
ably neither  of  these  passages  origi- 
nally related  to  the  Messiah,  but  they 
had  been  accustomed  to  be  so  ap- 
plied in  the  Jewish  commentaries, 
and  Paul  employs  them  as  an  argu- 


X.] 


TO    THE  ROMANS. 


169 


CHAPTER   X. 

The  Righteousness  of  Faith  in  Jesus  Christ  required  of  both  the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles. 

Brethren,  my  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God  for  Israel  is,  that 
2  they  might  be  saved.     For  I  bear  them  record  that  they  have  a 


ment  in  combating  their  pecuhar 
state  of  unbelief  They  were  but 
showing  national  characteristics  long 
ago  observed  and  described. — Asham- 
ed. The  margin  reads  confounded. 
The  stone  which  God  had  placed  as 
the  corner-stone  of  his  edifice  in 
Mount  Zion,  the  strength  and  orna- 
ment of  his  great  temple  of  revela- 
tion, became  to  the  Jews  a  block  to 
stumble  over  and  foil  upon. 

Well  might  the  Apostle  mourn  and 
weep,  and  wish  himself  accursed  from 
Christ  for  his  brethren,  when  he  re- 
flected upon  the  shame  and  sadness 
of  their  fall,  their  rejection  of  the 
Prophet  of  prophets,  who  came  to 
fulfil  their  whole  system  of  religion, 
and  the  denial  of  the  chosen  Son  of 
God  by  the  chosen  people  of  God. 
Nothing  in  history  is  more  full  of 
pathos,  nothing  is  more  mysterious  in 
providence  and  revelation,  and  noth- 
ing throws  a  more  discouraging  aspect 
over  the  nature  and  condition  of  man, 
than  the  rejec.'tion  of  Jesus  Christ  by 
the  Jews,  the  crucifixion  of  the  Son 
of  God  in  the  holy  city  of  Jerusalem. 
These  are  historical  events  full  of 
saddest  import,  of  terrible  warning, 
and  almost  incredible  contrasts.  But 
a  light  gleams  out  of  the  darkness : 
"  Whosoever  believeth  on  him  shall 
not  be  ashamed."  These  are  words 
of  inexpressible  comfort,  and  of  im- 
mortal hope.  Amid  all  the  darkness 
and  discouragement  of  human  de- 
pravity, whether  revealed  in  history, 
or  in  our  own  consciousness,  we  know 
that  a  human  being  has  never  exist- 
ed, that  seized  hold  of  this  promise 
as  if  he  were  grasping  the  horns  of 
the  altar,  to  whom  these  words  have 
not  been  trebly  made  good,  and 
15 


"  good  measure,  pressed  down  and 
shaken  together  and  running  over, 
been  given  into  his  bosom." 

CHAPTER  X. 

1 ,  2.  The  present  chapter  is  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  same  general  argu- 
ment as  that  of  the  last  one,  wiih  new 
reasons,  and  inferences  from  the  Old 
Testament.  As  the  Apostle  had 
spoken  severely,  in  chap.  ix.  31  -33, 
of  the  lapse  of  the  Jews  in  their  re- 
jection of  the  ]Messiah,  and  the  cause 
of  it  in  their  own  conceited  self- 
righteousness,  he  now,  by  the  natural 
reaction  of  alternate  emotions,  is  led 
to  feel  deeply  for  their  rejection  of 
Christ,  and  to  express  his  yearning 
for  them  in  the  most  compassionate 
terms.  He  calls  those  whom  he  ad- 
dresses his  brethren.  He  says,  that, 
so  far  from  having  any  hard  feelings 
against  the  JeAvs,  his  constant  prayer 
is  for  their  good  and  salvation.  It 
was  not  merely  saying  words  of  con- 
ciliation, but  it  was  the  deep  desire 
and  wrestling  of  his  heart  tor  them 
that  they  might  come  into  the  blessed- 
ness of  Christianity. — For  I.irael. 
Griesbach,  Tischendorf,  and  all  the 
best  critics  read  "  for  them,"  meaning, 
however,  the  same,  namely,  the  Israel- 
ites. But  the  manuscripts  and  ver- 
sions require  the  alteration.  A  new 
edition  of  the  Bible  is  much  needed, 
in  which  these  palpable  errors  shall 
be  corrected.  —  A  zeal  of  God  ;  or,  a 
zeal  for  God  and  his  law.  The  zeal 
of  the  Jews  was  so  strong  a  national 
characteristic,  as  to  be  proverbial. 
John  xvi.  2,  3  ;  Acts  xxi.  20  ;  xxii. 
3  ;  Gal.  i.  14.  It  arose  from  their 
original  constitution  as  a  people,  from 
the  fact  that  they  had  been  put  in 


170 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


zeal  of  God,  but  not  according  to  knowledge.     For  they,  being  3 
ignorant  of  Grod's  righteousness,  and  going  about  to  establish  their 
own  righteousness,  have  not  submitted  themselves  unto  the  right- 
eousness of  God.     For  Cln-ist  is  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteous-  4 


tnist  with  great  religious  privileges, 
and  from  the  persecutions  thej^  had 
endured  from  other  natiens,  who  had 
sought  to  cori'upt  their  allegiance  to 
God.  The  New  Testament  is  full  of 
illustrations  of  this  zeal ;  it  led  to  the 
crucifixion  of  Jesus,  and  the  persecu- 
tion of  his  disciples.  Paul  was  actu- 
ated by  it  when  he  was  arrested  by  a 
Adsion  from  heaven  on  his  way  to 
Damascus.  The  Jewish  writers  re- 
cord many  instances  of  the  zeal  of 
their  nation  for  the  law,  and  the 
Apocrypha  gives  a  narrative  of  mar- 
tyrdoms in  its  behalf.  — Not  according 
to  knowledge.  But  the  error  was,  that 
their  zeal  was  not  intelligent,  and 
therefore  it  was  narrow,  bigoted,  ob- 
stinate, and  persecuting.  It  was  not 
baptized  into  love,  gentleness,  and 
the  higher  and  more  genial  exercises 
of  the  spuntual  nature.  In  the  par- 
ticular instance  under  consideration, 
if  their  minds  had  been  as  much  en- 
lightened as  their  feelings  were  ex- 
cited, they  would  recognize  Jesus  as 
their  Messiah,  and  they  would  per- 
ceive that  he  was  the  very  completion 
and  fulfilment  of  that  Law,  to  wliich 
they  gave  so  contracted  and  blind, 
though  devoted,  an  adherence. 

3,  4.  Ignorant  of  God's  rigliteous- 
ness,  &c.  He  now  explains  what  he 
meant  in  ver.  2,  by  accusing  them  of 
want  of  knowledge.  They  had  set 
up  in  the  place  of  God's  method  of 
making  men  righteous  and  holy, 
namely,  faith-righteousness,  a  method 
of  their  own,  namely,  law-righteous- 
ness, which  of  course  acted  as  a  vir- 
tual exclusion  of  the  other  mode. 
"  The  Apostle  uses  the  expression 
submitted,  since  he  considers  the  cause 
of  their  not  receiving  what  God  is 
willing  to  bestow  to  be  a  spirit  of  in- 


subordination, a  want  of  humility 
and  acquiescence  in  the  Divine  ar- 
rangement." —  Christ  is  the  end  of  the 
law,  &c.  That  is,  he  is  the  very  ful- 
filment of  the  system  of  Law  on  which 
the  Jew  so  much  prides  himself 
The  Law  ends  in  Christ,  who  came 
not  to  destroy  it,  but  to  fulfil  it. 
Matt.  V.  17.  The  same  argument  is 
virtually  renewed  here  that  is  con- 
ducted in  chap.  vii.  The  whole  state 
of  the  case  is  somewhat  after  this 
wise.  Man  is  in  sin,  and  he  knows 
how  to  escape  this  wretched  state. 
He  deeply  feels  the  evil  and  the 
misery  of  sin,  but  the  law  of  his 
members  is  stronger  than  the  law  of 
his  mind,  and  he  yields  to  his  baser 
appetites  and  passions.  In  this  state 
Jesus  Christ  is  presented  to  him  as 
the  realization  of  the  perfect  life. 
He  is  the  righteousness  of  God,  and 
sanctification  and  wisdom  and  re- 
demption. He  sljows  what  every 
man  may  become  in  a  degree.  He 
shows  what  the  result  of  the  law  of 
the  mind  is,  when  that  law  is  per- 
fectly obeyed,  as  it  could  not  be  un- 
der the  Mosaic  Law,  because  the  mo- 
tives were  not  strong  enough.  To 
believe  in  Christ  is  therefore  to  be- 
Ueve  in  personal  perfection  and  good- 
ness. Our  past  sins  still  annoy  us, 
for  we  do  not  get  rid  of  all  their  con- 
sequences, and  at  times  their  old 
roots  sprout  up  again,  and  trouble  us. 
But  we  do  not  despair,  for  we  feel 
that  we  are  justified  in  our  best  hopes 
and  prospects  by  the  righteousness 
of  Christ ;  both  objectively  towards 
God  by  the  observance  of  his  law, 
and  subjectively  towards  ourselves 
by  seeing  what  our  nature  is  capable 
of  becoming,  if  we  persevere,  hold 
fast  the  profession  of  our  faith,  and 


X.] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


171 


5  ness  to  every  one  that  believeth.     For  Moses  describeth  the  right- 
eousness which  is  of  the  law,  That  the  man  wliich  doeth  those  things 

6  shall  hve  by  them.     But  the  righteousness  which  is  of  faith  speak- 
eth  on  this  wise :  Say  not  in  thine  heart,  Who  shall  ascend  into 

7  heaven  ?  that  is,  to  brmg  Christ  down  from  above :  or,  Wlio  shall 
descend  into  the  deep  ?  that  is,  to  bring  up  Christ  again  from  the 

8  dead.     But  what  saith  it  ?     The  word  is  nigh  thee,  eveii  in  thy 
mouth,  and  in  thy  heart :  that  is,  the  word  of  faith,  which  we  preach ; 


do  not  give  up  the  formation  of  a 
spiritual  character,  and  the  leading 
of  a  spiritual  Ufe.  We  take  refuge 
in  Jesus  Christ,  therefore,  as  our  faith 
and  salvation.  We  cannot  be  saved 
except  by  him,  nor  can  the  world 
find  deliverance  except  in  his  name. 
He  is  the  desire  and  the  healing  of 
aU  nations.  He  has  engrafted  a  ncAv 
life  upon  the  stock  of  humanity,  and 
a  better  kind  of  fruit  grows  on  the 
scions  of  his  setting  and  culture.  All 
men  are  henceforth  to  become  better 
that  he  has  lived.  He  is  the  great 
head  and  leader  of  a  second  human 
race,  as  Adam  was  the  head  and 
leader  of  the  first  human  race.  See 
chap.  V.  Such  seems  to  be  a  true 
statement  of  the  condition  of  man- 
kind, and  the  position  and  offices  of 
Jesus  Christ,  as  the  Teacher,  Master, 
Saviour,  Redeemer,  and  Example  of 
the  world. 

5.  Moses,  &c.  Lev.  xviii.  5.  The 
Law  of  INIoses  requires  perfect  obe- 
dience, and  makes  no  allowance  for 
any  defect  in  duty.  The  law  of 
Christian  Faith  is  equally  strict  in  its 
requirements,  and  it  releases  man 
from  no  obligation,  but  it  brings  a 
new  set  of  motives  and  considerations 
to  bear  upon  liim,  and  introduces 
him  to  a  class  of  truths  and  promises 
elevated  far  above  the  i-ange  of  the 
human  reason,  and  fitted  to  inspire 
him  with  courage  and  perseverance 
when  he  is  led  astray  into  temptation, 
and  to  animate  him  to  recover  his  lost 
ground.     In  faith  is  a  magazine  of 


boundless  resources,  and  when  man's 
heart  and  flesh  fail,  God  and  Christ 
become  the  strength  of  his  heart  and 
his  portion  for  ever. 

6-8.  Speaketh  on  this  wise,  &c. 
Deut.  XXX.  12-14.  The  language 
of  Moses,  the  very  lawgiver  himself, 
is  thus  quoted  to  justify  the  doctrine 
of  righteousness  by  faith.  The  only 
change  made  is  to  adapt  it  to  the  case 
in  hand  ;  —  a  method  of  using  and 
appl}Ting  the  Scriptures  quite  current 
among  the  Jews,  but  by  no  means 
always  indicating  the  idea  of  a  pro- 
phetical intention.  The  broad  and 
conspicuous  sense  of  the  passage  is, 
that  the  spirit  of  Christianity  was  not 
to  be  sought  afar,  but  at  home  in  the 
heart  and  in  the  Hfe.  There  was  to 
be  the  seat  of  its  enjoyment  and  of 
its  power.  Not  by  climbing  up  to 
heaven  and  bringing  Christ  down 
bodily,  nor  by  descending  into  Hades 
and  bringing  him  up,  by  no  difficult 
and  distant  act,  was  this  faith  to  be 
insured,  not  by  sacrifices,  nor  pilgrim- 
ages, nor  macerations  of  the  body, 
nor  genuflexions,  nor  any  of  the  as- 
cetic and  painful  exercises  of  heathen 
worship,  nor  the  severities  of  the  Law. 
The  eternal  word  of  tnith  and  faith 
was  in  the  mouth  and  in  the  heart, 
on  the  very  hps,  and  in  the  very 
bosom  of  man ;  nearer  and  closer  and 
more  binding  on  his  nature  than  any- 
thing else.  A  similar  use  of  the  word 
Christ,  as  synonymous  with  a  true 
faith  in  spiritual  realities,  in  truth, 
God,  and  heaven,  may  be  found  in 


172 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


that  if  thou  shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  shalt   9 
believe  in  thine  heart  that  God  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead,  thou 
shalt  be  saved.     For  with  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  righteous-  10 


1  Cor.  X.  4,  9,  and  Heb.  xi.  26. 
Olshausen  remarks,  that  "  unbelief 
has  for  its  characteristic  a  turning  to 
what  is  outward.  It  regards  God  as 
a  distant  being.  From  this  outward 
direction  the  spirit  is  called  back  into 
its  inward  depths,  in  which  it  finds 
God's  eternal  word  present,  and  this 
finding  is  faith  itself."  Hence,  the 
more  deeply  and  confidingly  we  sink 
into  the  arms  of  God,  and  let  our- 
selves down  into  the  deep  waters  of 
the  spirit,  and  allow  them  to  over- 
llow  us,  the  more  truly  do  we  enter 
into  life,  and  become  living,  happy, 
and  creative  sources  of  good  to  all 
around.  If  even  the  earlier  dispen- 
sation could  speak  such  words  through 
Moses  of  the  interior  power  of  re- 
ligion, how  much  more  were  they 
applicable  to  the  spirituality  of  the 
new  one  ? 

9,  10.  The  act  of  the  Christian  is 
twofold ;  he  must  believe,  and  he  must 
say  he  believes.  Faith  and  profession 
—  which  in  times  of  danger,  like  those 
in  which  the  Apostle  was  writing,  be- 
came confession  —  are  the  two  poles 
of  character ;  one  outward,  and  one 
inward ;  one  most  necessary  for  one's 
self,  the  other  most  necessary  for 
others,  but  not  unnecessary  for  one's 
self;  one  laying  hold  of  the  greatest 
s})iritual  power,  the  heart,  and  the 
other  of  the  greatest  social  instrument, 
speech.  Matt.  x.  32,  33 ;  2  Cor.  iv.  13. 
The  articles  of  this  early  creed,  that 
was  to  do  such  great  things  for  its  sub- 
ject, were  not  numerous  or  hard,  as 
creeds  of  human  manufacture  have 
since  become  ;  they  were  not  as  long 
even  as  the  so-called  Apostles'  Creed, 
or  the  Mcene,  much  less  the  Athana- 
sian,  the  Augsburg,  the  Westminster, 
or  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the 
Church  of  Eno;land.     If  creeds  are  so 


essential,  and  an  exact  geographical 
outline  of  all  the  boundaries  of  his 
faith  upon  a  host  of  points  is  so  very, 
useful  and  important  to  the  Christian 
Church,  it  is  very  astonishing  that  the 
Apostle  did  not  sketch  a  creed  for  us. 
But  if  we  examine  a  httle  more  close- 
ly, do  we  not  find  that  he  did  this 
very  thing  in  a  simple  and  effectual 
way,  which  other  men  have  since 
been  trying  to  do  in  a  very  compli- 
cated and  wire-drawn  method,  and 
have  embarrassed  by  many  need- 
less distinctions  and  details,  laying 
down  many  traps  for  weak  conscien- 
ces, and  multiplying  insincerities  for 
strong  ones  ?  The  confession  was 
that  Jesus  is  the  Lord,  is  the  Christ ; 
and  the  faith  was  that  he  is  raised 
froEU  the  dead.  These  two  articles 
were  the  Pauhne  creed,  and  if  they 
were  pillars  strong  enough  to  bear 
up  the  majestic  temple  of  such  a 
character  and  life  as  his,  we  can  pro- 
nounce them  fully  adequate  to  all  the 
present  exigencies  of  moral  and  spir- 
itual beings.  The  staff  Paul  walked 
with  is  good  enough  and  strong 
enough  for  our  pilgrimage.  In  the 
confession  of  Peter,  the  belief  was 
even  more  simple ;  it  was  in  Jesus 
as  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  The 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection  was  not 
in  the  creed,  because  the  fact  of  the 
resurrection  was  not  as  yet  in  the 
history ;  but  when  it  was,  it  became 
important,  as  summing  up  much  of 
the  substance  of  the  Gosj)el  in  one 
point  as  it  respected  its  miraculous 
character,  its  spirit  of  love  and  self- 
sacrifice,  and  its  assurance  of  ever- 
lasting life.  Jesus  did  not  raise  him- 
self from  the  dead,  but  God  raised 
him  up,  and  by  this  great  miracle  in- 
dorsed, as  it  were,  all  the  other  mira- 
cles as  of  divine  asencv.     Jesus  and 


X.] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


173 


1 1  ness  ;  and  with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto  salvation.     For 
the   Scripture    saith,  Wliosoever  believeth  on  him  shall  not  be 

12  ashamed.     For  there  is  no  difference  between  the  Jew  and  the 
Greek :  for  the  same  Lord  over  all  is  rich  unto  all  that  call  upon 

13  him.     For  whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall 

14  be  saved.    How  then  shall  they  call  on  liim  in  whom  they  have  not 


the  Resurrection  were  the  two  heads 
of  the  Apostle's  sermons  elsewhere. 
Acts  i.  22 ;  iv.  2 ;  xvii.  18 ;  xxiv.  21. 
AVhy,  we  would  ask,  in  the  name  of 
truth  and  salvation,  did  not  the  Apos- 
tle Paul  lay  down  the  programme  of 
the  doctrines  of  the  Trinity,  the  Atone- 
ment, the  Total  Depravity  of  Man,  the 
Deity  of  Christ,  Election,  and  other 
points,  on  the  present  occasion  of  stat- 
ing a  saving  faith,  if  those  articles  are 
essential ;  and  if  he  did  not  do  it,  if  he 
concentrated  the  attention  of  his  con- 
verts on  two  memorable  truths  and 
facts,  as  the  vital  germs  of  the  new 
and  divine  life,  namely,  Jesus  the 
Lord,  and  his  Resurrection,  may  we 
not  fairly  infer  that  he  did  not  deem 
them  salvatory,  if,  indeed,  he  was  not 
then,  on  the  contrary,  entirely  unac- 
quainted with  these  errors,  which  af- 
terwards chiefly  sprang  up  from  the 
unhallowed  union  of  Christianity  and 
Jewish  and  Pagan  philosophy  ?  It 
will  be  observed  that  ver.  1 0  contains 
a  Hebrew  paralleUsm. 

11-13.  The  same  generous  and 
unrestricted  platform  of  salvation  is 
here  laid  down  for  all  who  call  on 
the  name  of  Jesus,  as  elsewhere  dis- 
tinguishes the  ministry  of  Paul.  He 
is  at  the  farthest  possible  remove  from 
sectarianism,  and  no  name  is  more 
perverted  than  his  when  used  to 
bolster  up  a  party.  He  is  the  advo- 
cate of  the  largest  Christian  liberty  ; 
and  his  Epistles  are  sadly  tortured 
when  they  are  interpreted  to  teach 
any  theology  less  comprehensive  than 
that  of  God  as  the  Universal  Father, 
Man  as  the  equal  Brother,  Jesus  as  the 
common  Saviour,  and  Heaven  as  the 
15* 


home  of  mankind  at  last.  His  teach- 
ings stand  justified  to  the  highest 
reason,  to  the  most  impartial  love, 
and  to  the  brightest  hope.  It  is  the 
ignorance,  the  superstition,  the  fear, 
and  the  hardheartedness  of  mankind 
that  have  petrified  these  flowing 
streams  of  fife  into  fossil  theologies, 
and  frozen  up  the  natural  sympathies 
of  the  human  bosom  to  beheve  in 
such  doctrines  as  that  of  Infant 
Damnation,  and  to  perpetrate  such 
horrors  as  those  of  the  Inquisition 
and  of  Smithfield.  —  Shall  not  he 
ashamed.  Isa.  xxviii.  16;  xlix.  23; 
Rom.  i.  16  ;  ix.  33.  Such  passages  as 
these  are  evidently  quoted  by  way  of 
acconmiodation.  They  are  spiritually 
applicable,  and  describe  a  state  of 
tilings,  and  a  relation  between  per- 
sons and  things,  resembling  the 
one  originally  intended.  —  Wliosoever 
shall  call,  &c.  Joel  ii.  32.  Both  Jews 
and  Gentiles  are  treated  with  the 
utmost  generosity  and  benevolence 
by  God,  and  in  proportion  as  they 
call  upon  him,  seek  his  grace,  and 
inquire  after  the  methods  of  his  spir- 
itual influence,  they  will  alike  be- 
come the  objects  of  his  parental  love 
and  mercy.  He  knows  no  nationality, 
no  clime,  no  color,  no  party,  but 
whosoever  comes  to  him  in  faith 
shall  by  no  means  come  in  vain.  It 
is  dehghtful  to  turn  irom  the  narrow 
systems  of  human  exclusiveness  and 
dogmatism  to  the  all-encompassing 
mercy  and  the  liberal  promises  of  our 
Heavenly  Father.  For  his  thoughts 
are  not  as  our  thoughts,  and  his  ways 
are  not  as  our  ways. 

14,  15.  The  Apostle,  who  through- 


174 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


believed?  and  liow  sliaU  they  believe  iii  him  of  wliom  they  have 
not  heard?  and  how  shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher?  and  how  is 
shaU  they  preach,  except  they  be  sent  ?  as  it  is  written,  How  beau- 
tiful are  the  feet  of  them  that  preach  the  gospel  of  peace,  and  bring 


out  this  chapter  is  engaged  in  con- 
ciliating the  Jewish  mind  to  welcome 
the  introduction  of  the   Gentile  ele- 
ment into  the  Clmstian  Church,  would 
here  justify  incidentally  his  own  mis- 
sion and  ministry  to  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  bv  the  necessity  of  their  call- 
inw  on  God  through  the  instrumental- 
ity of  preachers  sent  for  the  pur^DOse. 
Bv  a  gradation  of  questions,  he  es- 
tabUshes  the  need  of  Christian  mis- 
sions to  the  Gentile  world,  and  ends 
by   quoting  from   one   of  the   most 
admired  Hebrew  prophets  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  beautiful  ministry  of  those 
Avho  thus  went  forth  to  do  the  great- 
est possible  good  to  theh  fellow-men. 
—  How  beautiful  are  the  feet,  &c.  I.  e. 
How  grateful  is  the  coming,  &c.     Of 
course  this  is  simply  a  form  of  ex- 
pression  to   describe   the   desirable- 
ness of  their  advent,  and  the  moral 
gi-ace  and  joy  of  such  a  beneficent 
movement   iii   human    affairs,  when 
the  highest  truths,  and  the  brightest 
promises,   and    the    most   important 
duties  would  be  generally  proclaimed 
to  mankind.   Nearly  twenty  centuries 
have  passed  away  since  these  blessed 
words  were  written,  and  how  far  are 
we   still   as    Christian    nations   from 
fulfiUing  this  great  commission,  and 
preaching  the^Gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture, especially  in  its  true  and  pure 
character  as  the  Gospel  of  peace,  as 
glad  tidings  of  good  things  !     War, 
not  peace,  is  too  often  the  relation 
between   us   and   the   Pagan  world. 
The  Gospel,  also,  which  the  mission- 
aries  thus  far  have  spread  abroad, 
is   too    darkly  imbued   with   human 
errors   and   corruptions,  and   repre- 
sents God  in  too  severe,  and  man  in 
too  hopeless,  a  condition,  to  justify  the 


Apostle's   description   of  the    Chris- 
tianity  he   was   interested    in    com- 
municating to  the  world.     Isa.  Iii.  7. 
He  apphes  the  language  of  the  old 
prophet,  employed   to   describe   the 
restoration  of  Israel  from  captivity, 
to  the  Apostles  and  preachers  of  the 
Gospel.     This  long  running  hne  of 
quotations  bv  the  Apostle  would  have 
an  indescribable  effect  in  soothing  the 
Jewish  apprehensions,  and  reconcil- 
ing his  countrymen  to  the  new  dis- 
peiisation.     For  it  showed  them  that 
Christianity   was    but  a   species    of 
spiritual  completion  and  consumma- 
tion,  in   a   nobler    sense    than   was 
originally   anticipated,   of   the    best 
promises  and  declarations  of  the  He- 
brew  Scriptures.     A  certain   air  of 
indefiniteness  necessarily  rests  upon 
the  point  of  connection  between  the 
Jewish  and  the  Christian  system,  nor 
are  we  obliged  to  ascertain  hterally 
and  exactly  the  precise  truth  of  the 
case   in   order  to   reap   from  Chris- 
tianity all  the  benefit  it  is  fitted  to 
impart,   or    to    respect  Judaism   as 
its    divinelv   authorized   forerunner. 
These  subj'ects  must,  from  the  verj^ 
nature  of  the  case,  lie  in  large  and 
indistinct  outhnes  to  the  minds  even 
of  the   most   learned   and   spiritual, 
as  is  ai:i;arent  from  the  wide  diversity 
of  opinions  among  critics  and  theolo- 
odans.   We  may  be  sure,  at  least,  that 
a  narrow,  close",  literal,  and  dogmatic 
interpretation  is  certainly  out  of  the 
line  of  the  truth,  and  that  only  as  we 
drink  in  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel  m 
copious  draughts,  and  take  the  most 
elevated,    charitable,    and    enlarged 
views  of  the  meaning  and  mission  ot 
Christianitv,  shall  we  reasonably  hope 
to  be  successful  in  understanding  this 


TO  THE  ROaiANS. 


175 


16  glad  tidings  of  good  things !  But  thej  have  not  all  obeyed  the 
gospel.     For  Esaias  saith,  Lord,  who  hath  beheved  our  report? 

17  So  then  faith  cometh  by  hearmg,  and  hearing  by  the  word  of  God. 

18  But  I  say,  Have  they  not  heard  ?     Yes,  verily,  their  sound  went 

19  into  all  the  earth,  and  their  words  unto  the  end  of  the  world.  But 
I  say,  Did  not  Israel  know  ?  First  Moses  saith,  I  will  provoke 
you  to  jealousy  by  them  that  are  no  people,  and  by  a  foohsh  nation 


last  and  greatest  gift  to  mankind,  and 
its  connection  with  what  went  before 
it  in  the  mighty  plan  of  God. 

16.  But  the  objection  might  be 
made,  that,  widely  as  the  Gospel  had 
been  preached,  it  had  by  no  means 
Avon  universal  assent  and  obedience. 
The  hearers  of  the  word  had  not 
always  been  its  doers.  St.  Paul 
therefore  replies  again,  in  the  words 
of  Isa.  liii.  1,  that  this  was  no  unex- 
pected or  discouraging  result ;  for  if 
the  Jews  did  not  uniformly  hearken 
to  their  religious  teachers,  it  was  but 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  a  similar 
unfaithfulness  might  prevail  among 
the  less  favored  Gentiles.  It  was  cer- 
tainly no  worse  in  this  respect  under 
the  Gospel  than  it  had  been  under 
the  Law  and  the  Prophets. 

17.  In  other  words,  religion  is  a 
system  of  causes  and  effects,  and  if 
the  causes  are  put  in  operation,  the 
effects  will  in  a  measure  be  produced. 
The  word  of  God  must  be  heard  in 
order  to  be  believed,  and  though  con- 
siderable allowance  must  be  made  for 
the  blindness  and  prejudice  of  men, — 
for  even  Jesus  and  Paul  did  not  con- 
vert all  their  auditors, -s— yet,  as  a 
general  rule,  in  proportion  to  the 
wide  and  zealous  dissemination  of 
Christian  truth  in  the  world,  will  be 
the  result  in  faith  and  obedience. 
John  xvii.  20.  We  shall  reap  as  we 
sow. 

18.  Ps.  xix.  4,  5.  But  the  Apostle 
vindicates  himself  and  his  fellow- 
Apostles  by  declaring,  that,  so  far  as 
hearing  the  Gospel  was  concerned, 
the  condition  of  believing  it  had  been 


fulfilled.  They  had  been  diligent,  east 
and  Avest,  and  north  and  south,  in  pro- 
claiming it  to  all  Avho  would  hearken 
to  its  gracious  messages.  Their  minis- 
try had  been  so  universal,  that  it  might 
be  likened  to  the  influence  of  the 
heavenly  bodies,  as  described  in  the 
Psalms.  Their  ordinances  and  ser- 
vices had  been  like  day  and  night, 
and  the  shining  of  the  sun  in  all  the 
world.  "When  we  reflect,"  says 
Neauder,  "what  it  must  have  im- 
ported to  a  Jew  to  behold  that  Divine 
revelation,  which  hitherto  had  only 
been  promulgated  within  the  narrow 
limits  of  Judaea,  conveyed  by  numer- 
ous messengers  to  Greeks,  Romans, 
and  barbarians ;  when  we  reflect  hoAv 
it  must  have  floated  before  the  mind 
of  Paul,  that  now  a  fire  had  been  cast 
into  humanity,  which,  continuing  to 
kindle  genei-ation  after  generation, 
would  bring  about  a  totally  new  order 
of  things ;  when  we  reflect  upon  all 
tliis,  can  it  appear  strange,  that,  al- 
though as  yet  but  an  inconsiderable 
part  of  the  world  had  received  the 
word  of  hfe,  the  Apostle  should  use 
such  comprehensive  expressions  ?  " 

19.  The  Jews  ought  to  know  from 
their  own  Scriptures  that  the  Gospel 
was  properly  offered  to  the  Gentiles, 
for  both  Moses  and  Isaiah  said  as 
much  as  that.  Deut.  xxxii.  21.  "No 
people"  and  "foohsh  nation"  stood 
for  the  Gentiles.  "Whether  the  rejec- 
tion of  Israel,  of  which  Moses  spoke, 
was  a  prophecy  of  what  befell  the 
Jews  in  their  earlier  or  their  later 
history,  it  is  not  necessary  to  decide  ; 
it  is  enough  to  know  that  the  princi- 


176 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


I  will  anger  you.     But  Esaias  is  very  bold,  and  saitli,  I  was  found  20 
of  them  that  sought  me  not ;    I  was  made  manifest  unto   them 
that  asked  not  after  me.     But  to  Israel  he  saith,  All  day  long  I  21 
have  stretched  forth  my  hands  unto  a  disobedient  and  gainsaying 
people. 


pie  laid  down  would  find  several 
verifications.  The  Jews  would  be 
made  jealous  by  seeing  blessings, 
which  they  supposed  were  peculiar 
to  themselves,  imparted  widely  to 
other  nations.  The  prediction  has 
been  fulfilled  ;  for  not  keeping  their 
minds  and  hearts  open  with  an  en- 
larged spirit,  they  were  offended,  in- 
stead of  being  gratified,  as  they  should 
have  been,  at  witnessing  the  diffusion 
of  the  blessings  of  revelation  to  all 
mankind. 

20.  But  Esaias  is  very  hold,  &c. 
Isa.  Ixv.  1.  The  prophet  Isaiah  was 
even  more  strong  and  decided,  and 
asserted  that  God  would  be  found 
by,  and  be  manifested  to,  those  who 
sought  him  not,  namely,  the  idolatrous 
and  heathen  nations.  The  warning 
of  Moses  was  in  case  the  children  of 
Israel  forgot  their  allegiance  to  their 
lawful  Head  and  King,  whereas  the 
present  verse  relates  to  the  positive 
admission  of  the  Gentiles  to  higher 
privileges,  at  all  events,  and  inde- 
pendently of  any  thing  the  Jews 
should  do  or  leave  undone. 

21.  To  Israel  he  saith.  Isa.  Ixv.  2. 
Not  only  the  Gentiles  would  be  ac- 
cepted, but,  what  was  even  more 
alarming,  the  Jews  would  run  the 
hazard  of  becoming  castaways  them- 
selves, and  forfeiting  to  a  more  de- 
serving people  privileges  which  they 
had  ceased  to  improve.  The  position 
of  the  prophet,  standing  and  all  day 
Ions  stretching   out  his   hands   and 


entreating  them  to  return  and  live, 
and  showing  the  most  affectionate 
and  importuning  interest  in  their 
welfare,  notwithstanding  their  dis- 
obedience and  opposition,  is  a  fine, 
graphic  picture,  drawn  by  a  rich 
imagination.  Tholuck  says,  that,  "if 
from  tliis  passage  we  once  more  look 
back  upon  the  tenth  and  ninth  chap- 
ters, it  is  manifest  how  httle  Paul 
ever  designed  to  revert  to  an  absolute 
decree,  but  meant  to  cast  all  blame 
upon  the  urmt  of  icill  in  man,  resist- 
ing the  gracious  tdll  of  God. 

The  history  of  the  Jews  is  in  many 
respects  a  sad  one,  but  it  is  only  an 
enlarged  sketch  of  what  has  befallen 
every  nation,  on  a  smaller  scale ; 
namely,  to  rise  and  flourish  while 
faithful  to  the  laws  of  God,  and  then 
to  suffer  decline  and  downfall  when 
it  became  disobedient  and  corrupt. 
The  providence  of  God  manifested 
through  Israel  is  similar  to  the  uni- 
versal providence  manifested  through 
Egypt,  Greece,  Borne,  and  all  nations. 
Woe  is  unto  any  people,  no  matter 
how  powerful  or  how  famous,  that 
has  not  respect  unto  the  eternal 
laws  of  God,  and  builds  not  its  re- 
nown and  its  strength  upon  the  Rock 
of  Ages.  The  Jews  exist  in  every 
nation,  as  living  \ritnesses  of  the  truth 
of  their  ancient  prophecies,  and  of 
the  certainty  of  the  retributions  of 
the  moral  government  of  God.  Their 
history  is  an  eternal  miracle  and  les- 
son to  mankind. 


XI.] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


177 


CHAPTER   XL 

The  Calling  of  the  Gentiles  to  redound,  not  to  the  Injury,  hut  the  Final  Redemption, 
of  Israel  itself 

I  SAY  then,  Hatli  God  cast  away  his  people  ?     God  forbid.     For  I 
also  am  an  Israelite,  of  the  seed  of  Abraham,  o/*tlie  tribe  of  Benja- 

2  min.     God  hath  not  cast  away  his  people  which  he  foreknew. 
Wot  ye  not  what  the  Scripture  saith  of  Ehas  ?   how  he  maketh 

3  intercession  to  God  against  Israel,  saying,  Lord,  they  have  killed 


CHAPTER  XL 

The  eleventh  chapter  is  occupied 
with  an  answer  to  the  objection,  that, 
if  what  had  been  said  betbre  in  chaps. 
vii.-x.  was  true,  then  God  had  re- 
jected his  chosen  people  Israel;  which 
would  be  a  thing  incredible.  First, 
the  Apostle  cites  himself,  ver.  1,  and 
the  "  remnant "  of  his  countrymen,  as 
evidence  that  all  were  not  rejected, 
ver.  2-5,  and  afterwards  argues  that, 
as  the  casting  away  was  not  total,  so 
it  would  not  be  final,  ver.  11-24;  but 
that,  as  the  rejection  of  the  Jews  had 
seemed  to  act  favorably  for  the  time 
being  on  the  conversion  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, so  finally  the  faith  of  the  Gen- 
tiles would  react  beneficially  on  the 
chosen  people,  ver.  25-32.  He  con- 
cludes with  a  spirit-stirring  apos- 
trophe to  the  grandeur  and  wisdom 
of  the  Divine  plans,  ver.  33-36. 

1.  Hammond  suggests  that  it  was 
probably  this  chapter  to  Avliich  the 
Apostle  Peter  referred,  2  Pet.  iii.  16, 
as  hard  to  be  understood,  and  liable 
to  be  wrested  to  bad  uses. —  God  for- 
bid. Literally,  Let  it  not  be,  the 
word  God  not  being  in  the  original 
at  all.  —  For  I  also  am,  &c.  The 
notable  instance  of  the  Apostle  to  the 
Gentiles  was  an  evidence  that  there 
was  no  necessary  and  wholesale  re- 
jection of  the  Israelites.  He  else- 
where glories  in  his  Hebrew  ances- 
try. 2  Cor.  xi.  22 ;  Phil.  iii.  5. 
Paley  remarks  that  the  Apostle  fol- 
lows this  thought,  that  God  had  not 


cast  away  his  people,  throughout 
this  chapter,  "in  a  series  of  reflec- 
tions calculated  to  soothe  the  Jewish 
converts,  as  well  as  to  procure  from 
their  Gentile  brethren  respect  to  the 
Jewish  institutions.  Now  all  this  is 
perfectly  natural.  In  a  real  St.  Paul, 
writing  to  real  converts,  it  is  what 
anxiety  to  bring  them  over  to  his 
persuasion  would  naturally  produce ; 
but  there  is  an  earnestness  and  a 
personality,  if  I  may  so  call  it,  in  the 
manner,  Avhich  a  cold  forgery,  I  ap- 
prehend, would  neither  have  con- 
ceived nor  supported." 

2.  His  people  ivhich  lie  foreknew. 
A  circumlocution  for  Israel.  God 
chose  the  Jews,  not  as  favorites,  but 
as  instruments ;  not  as  idle  and  irre- 
sponsible recipients  of  his  bounties, 
but  as  stewards,  who  should  give  ac-  * 
count;  not  as  spoiled  and  indulged 
children,  but  as  trustees  of  a  great 
bequest  to  the  world;  the  flame  of 
heaven  was  kindled  among  them, 
not  to  warm  merely  their  hearth- 
stone, but  to  be  the  altar-fire  of  the 
whole  earth.  If  the  election  of  the 
Hebrews  was  then  an  election  to 
piivileges  and  blessings,  it  was  also  a 
promotion  to  the  highest  and  most 
responsible  trusts  and  duties  on  earth, 
namely,  to  be  the  light-bearers  and 
religious  leaders  of  the  world.  —  Wot. 
Old  English,  now  obsolete,  for  know. 
—  Of  Eiias,  or,  as  the  marginal  read- 
ing is,  in  Elias ;  that  is,  according  to 
the  ancient  mode  of  quotation,  in  the 
section   relating  to   Ehas.     1  Kinss 


178 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


thy  prophets,  and  digged  down  thine  altars ;  and  I  am  left  alone, 
and  thej  seek  my  life.     But  what  saith  the  answer  of  God  unto  4 
him  ?     I  have  reserved  to  myself  seven  thousand  men,  who  have 
not  bowed  the  knee  to  the  image  of  Baal.     Even  so  then  at  this  5 
present  time  also  there  is  a  remnant  according  to  the  election  of 
grace.     And  if  by  grace,  then  is  it  no  more  of  works  :  otherwise  6 
grace  is  no  more  grace.     But  if  it  he  of  works,  then  is  it  no  more 


xix.  10-18.  —  Saying  is  omitted  by 
both  Griesbach  and  Tischendorf. 
Paul  is  peculiarly  happy  in  quoting 
an  instance  of  the  difi'erence  between 
the  Church  visible  and  the  Church 
inyisible,  and  the  encouragement 
there  always  was  that  the  heart  of 
the  people  was  really  sounder  than  it 
appeared  to  be  to  a  casual  observer. 

3,  4.  1  Kings  xvi.  31,  32  ;  xviii.  30. 
Ahab,  the  wicked  king  of  Israel,  mar- 
ried Jezebel,  a  heathen  woman,  the 
daughter  of  the  Sidonian  king,  and 
introduced  the  worship  of  Baal,  a 
heathen  deity,  instead  of  the  service 
of  Almighty  God.  The  children  of 
Israel  were  with  great  difficulty 
Aveaned  from  idolatry,  and  they  were 
constantly  liable  to  relapse.  It  is 
sufficiently  evident  that  only  the 
power  of  a  revelation  and  authority 
above  themselves  could  hav^e  raised 
them  out  of  this  national,  character- 
istic habit,  and  banished  at  last  idol- 
worship  for  ever  from  the  Hebrew 
commonwealth.  —  To  the  image  of 
Baal.  Baal  is  here  represented  in 
the  original  as  a  goddess,  but  else- 
where as  a  god.  The  gender  was 
sometimes  mascuUne,  and  sometimes 
feminine. 

5,  6.  The  old  saying  was  made 
good  in  a  nobler  sense  than  the  origi- 
nal one,  and  there  was  now,  as  then, 
"a  faithful  fevf."  —  The  election  of 
grace.  Dropping  the  HebreAv  idiom, 
we  read  it  the  gracious  election,  or 
choice. — But  if  it  be  of  works,  then  it 
is  no  more  grace:  otherwise  work  is 
no  more  work.      This  is  all  omitted 


as  spurious  by  Griesbach  and  other 
critics  of  the  highest  class.  It  really 
adds  nothing  to  the  sense  before  ex- 
pressed, unless  it  be  to  intensify  the 
thought  by  reitei-ation  and  amplifica- 
tion. The  doctrine  of  election  has 
been  sufficiently  commented  on  in 
the  ninth  chapter.  It  is  evident  that 
it  is  an  election  to  privileges,  and  not 
final  and  eternal  condition  or  chai'ac- 
ter,  of  which  the  Apostle  speaks.  It 
is  an  election  too,  which,  though  origi- 
nally on  the  part  of  the  All- wise  Dis- 
poser undetermined  by  the  personal 
merit  of  the  individual,  immediately 
takes  on  a  character  from  the  faith- 
fulness or  unfaithfulness  of  the  elect- 
ed party  of  further  approval  or  disap- 
proval. Thus  the  chosen  people  found 
in  election  no  charm  to  keep  off  the 
natural  retribution  of  their  sins,  and 
the  Gentiles  not  chosen  found  accept- 
ance in  proportion  as  they  feared  God 
and  wrought  righteousness.  When 
we  speak  of  works,  we  must  remem- 
ber that  faith  is  a  work,  and  one  of  the 
greatest  works  a  human  being  can 
perform,  and  the  Apostle  grounds 
salvation  on  faith.  John  vi.  28,  29. 
There  is  an  election  of  God,  by  which 
he  causes  one  man  to  be  born  in 
Africa  and  another  in  the  United 
States,  one  man  in  a  Mahometan  and 
another  in  a  Christian  land,  one  man 
black  and  another  white,  one  man 
simple  and  another  a  genius ;  and 
there  Is  no  injustice,  only  variety,  In 
such  election,  because  no  more  Is  re- 
Cjulred  of  each  one  than  he  Is  gifted 
with  powers  to  fulfil.     But  from  the 


XL] 


TO    THE   ROMANS. 


179 


7  grace :   otherwise  work  is  no  more  work.     What  then  ?     Israel 
hath  not  obtained  that  which  he  seeketh  for  ;  but  the  election  hath 

8  obtained  it,  and  the  rest  w^ere  bhnded ;  according  as  it  is  written, 
God  hath  given  them  the  spirit  of  slumber,  eyes  that  they  should 

9  not  see,  and  ears  that  they  should  not  hear,  unto  this  day.     And 
David  saith.  Let  then-  table  be  made  a  snare,  and  a  trap,  and  a 


point  of  this  varied  endowment,  con- 
stitution, and  condition,  from  the 
moment  the  soul  begins  to  act,  the 
free  agency  and  responsibility  of  man 
run  parallel  with  the  overruling 
power  and  providence  of  God,  In 
faith,  in  choice,  in  obedience,  in  de- 
votion to  duty,  in  every  good  word 
and  work,  all  the  way  up  from  the 
germ  to  the  full-grown  man  and  per- 
fected Christian,  man  must  work, 
labor,  persevere,  or  he  cannot  inherit 
the  promises  of  God.  The  doctrine 
of  the  Apostle,  therefore,  relating 
to  election,  and  his  exhortations  to 
duty,  to  good  works,  chaps,  xii.-xv., 
are  perfectly  accordant  one  with  the 
other.  He  who  believes  in  Jesus 
Christ  has  already  done  one  of  the 
greatest  works  a  human  being  can 
possibly  perform,  and  one  that  leads 
on  to  the  whole  diadem  of  Christian 
graces  and  virtues. 

7,  8.  As  Israel  was  an  election  from 
the  rest  of  the  world,  so  was  there 
also  a  further  winnowing  of  Israel,  an 
election  of  an  election. —  The  rest  were 
Winded^  &c.  Deut.  xxix.  4  ;  Is.  vi. 
10  ;  2  Cor.  iii.  14,  15.  God  of  course 
does  not  actually  make  any  human 
being  worse  by  a  direct  agency,  or 
add  a  feather's  weight  to  give  the 
preponderance  of  the  moral  scale  on 
the  side  of  evil.  But  he  is  repre- 
sented as  doing  that  which  he  did  not 
actually  prevent,  and  causing  that 
blindness  which  took  place  under  his 
providence,  and  which  he  did  not 
directly  remove.  This  was  in  accord- 
ance with  the  Hebrew  habit  of  ascrib- 
ing everything,  both  good  and  bad,  to 
the  immediate  agency  of  the  higher 


powers.  —  Unto  tJiis  day.  Olshausen 
remarks,  that  "  it  is  evident  from  these 
words  that  the  Apostle  has  in  view  in 
the  first  instance  only  a  temporary 
hardening,  and  hopes  that  it  will  soon 
be  possible  to  remove  the  spirit  of 
slumber  from  them,  Avithout  being 
obliged  to  apprehend  that  they  will 
afterwards,  when  awake,  continue  to 
resist,  and  only  incur  heavier  guilt." 
Griesbach  edits  this  verse,  with  the 
exception  of  this  clause,  as  parenthet- 
ical, thus  connecting  hlinded  in  ver. 
7  with  unto  this  day  in  ver.  8. 

9,  10.  A7id  David  saith.  Ps.  Ixix. 
22,  23.  The  expressions  of  David 
towards  his  enemies  were  still  more 
severe  than  those  of  the  prophet,  for 
he  seemed  to  invoke  direct  malechc- 
tions  upon  them.  He  says.  Let  the 
very  place  of  God's  bounty,  the  daily 
table,  become  a  curse  to  them,  and 
let  the  bhnded  eyes  and  bowing  form 
of  age  be  theirs.  It  has  been  cus- 
tomary among  commentators  to  justi- 
fy these  words  of  David,  as  uttered 
not  only  against  his  enemies,  but 
against  those  of  God.  Yet  on  no 
such  ground  can  we  excuse  his  re- 
vengeful directions  to  his  son  Solo- 
mon just  before  his  death,  and  those 
perhaps  are  a  key  of  explanation  to 
some  passan;es  in  the  Psalms.  1  Kin^ 
il.  1-9.  The  truth  is,  that  Christi- 
anity is  not  responsible  for  the  con- 
duct of  the  patriarchs,  kings,  and 
prophets  of  the  elder  dispensation. 
Revelation  did  not  drive  out  their 
human  nature,  nor  entirely  overcome 
its  downward  propensities.  Inspira- 
tion docs  not  signify  either  infallibil- 
ity in  all  knowledge,  or  moral  perfec- 


180 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


stumbling-block,  and  a  recompense  unto  them  :  let  their  eyes  be  lo 
darkened,  that  they  may  not  see,  and  bow  down  their  back  alway. 
I  say  then.  Have  they  stumbled  that  they  should  fall?     God  for-  ii 
bid :  but  rather  through  their  fall  salvation  is  come  unto  the  Gentiles, 
for  to  provoke  them  to  jealousy.     Now  if  the  fall  ofthem  he  the  12 


tion  of  character.  Even  the  Apos- 
tles, who  had  been  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  example  and  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Master,  were  not  perfect 
men.  When  Paul,  therefore,  quotes 
such  sentiments  as  those  of  the  ninth 
and  tenth  verses,  he  is  not  to  be  un- 
derstood as  doing  it  necessanly  by 
way  of  approbation,  but  of  illustra- 
tion. He  argues  with  the  Jews  on 
their  own  ground,  and  adduces  the 
words  of  their  most  revered  king  and 
psalmist  as  descriptive  of  the  retribu- 
tion that  would  overtake  the  enemies 
of  the  truth.  The  rich  privileges  of 
Christianity  would  be  perverted  by 
the  obstinate  and  unbelieving,  and 
turned  into  evils,  just  as  David  wished 
the  blessings  of  the  happiest  and  most 
joyous  jDart  of  life,  the  bounties 
and  hospitahties  of  tlie  table,  might 
become  snares,  traps,  stumbling- 
blocks,  and  retributions  to  his  wicked 
persecutors.  Christianity  in  the  days 
of  Paul  was  darkened  to  the  Jcavs 
by  the  mists  of  prejudice  and  error, 
just  as  the  j)oet  king  in  his  poetic 
rage  and  ecstasy  desired  that  his  foes 
might  be  made  blind,  old,  and  de- 
crepit. AVe  know  what  the  spirit  of 
Christ  is,  and  there  is  nothing  in  this 
passage,  interpreted  as  above,  which 
was  designed  by  Paul  to  conflict  with 
that  boundless  love  and  mercy  of  the 
Lord ;  but  in  desci-ibing  the  natural 
consequences  of  unbelief  and  of  the 
rejection  of  the  Gospel,  he  quotes  the 
poetry  of  David,  as  we  now  quote  a 
tavorite  author  for  description,  im- 
pression, or  illustration  of  our  views. 
11.  Having  settled  the  question 
that  the  rejection  of  the  Jcavs  is  not 
total,  he  now  proceeds  to  prove  that 
it  is  not  final,  but  that  the  conversion 


of  the  Gentiles  would  be  an  instru- 
ment to  react  favorably  for  the  resto- 
ration of  Israel  to  Christianity.  This 
train  of  thought  is  pursued  through 
most  of  the  remainder  of  this  chap- 
ter. —  That  they  should  fall,  i.  e.  ut- 
terly. From  his  strain  thus  far,  it 
might  be  inferred  that  he  regarded 
the  moral  overthrow  of  the  chosen 
people  as  decisive.  But  such  is  by 
no  means  his  conclusion,  for  he  ralhes 
from  this  point,  and  expatiates  on 
the  hope  that  the  action  and  reaction 
of  Judaism  and  Gentilism  on  one 
another  would  be  reciprocally  bene- 
ficial.—  For  to  provoke  them  to  jeal- 
ousy. The  Vulgate  better  reads, 
that  they  may  be  emulous  of  them. 
See  ver.  14.  It  was  emulation  rather 
than  jealousy  that  was  to  be  promoted 
by  the  causes  under  consideration. 
Acts  xiii.  46.  In  the  mighty  move- 
ments of  the  Apostle's  mind  from 
side  to  side  of  his  argument,  he  main- 
tains the  equilibrium  of  loss  and  gain, 
rebuke  and  hope,  and  indulges  in  no 
unhealthy  and  morbid  complaints. 
While  he  draws  from  the  old  Scrip- 
tures sentences  of  severe  condemna- 
tion, he  also  finds  there  his  materials 
of  consolation  and  courage.  As  Tho- 
luck  quotes  from  Chrysostom  :  "  But 
as  he  had  greatly  run  the  Israelites 
down,  and  strung  accusation  upon 
accusation,  bringing  forward  prophet 
after  prophet  crying  out  against  them, 
Isaiah  and  Ehas  and  Moses  and 
David  and  Hosea,  and  that  not  once 
nor  twice,  but  frequently,  lest  in  this 
way  he  might  plunge  them  in  de- 
spair, and  obstruct  their  return  to  the 
faith ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  lest  he 
mioht  lift  the  believers  from  among 
the  Gentiles  into  arrogance,  and,  by 


XI.] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


181 


riches  of  the  world,  and  the  diminishing  of  them  the  riches  of  the 

13  Gentiles  ;  how  much  more  their  fulness  ?     For  I  speak  to  you 
Gentiles,  inasmuch  as  I  am  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  I  magnify 

14  mine  office :  if  by  any  means  I  may  provoke  to  emulation  thein 

15  ivJiich  are  my  flesh,  and  might  save  some  of  them.     For  if  the 
casting  away  of  them  be  the  reconciling  of  the  world,  what  shall 

16  the  receiving  of  them  he,  but  life  from  the  dead  ?     For  if  the  first- 
fruit  he  holy,  the  lump  is  also  holy :  and  if  the  root  he  holy,  so  are 


puffing  up,  injure  them  in  the  article 
of  their  taith,  he  again  consoles  the 
Jews,  saying,  that  by  their  fall  salva- 
tion is  come  to  the  Gentiles." 

12-15.  The  rejection  of  the  Gos- 
pel by  the  Jews,  and  the  persecution 
of  the  Apostles  and  disciples  at  Jeru- 
salem drove  the  preachers  of  Christi- 
anity abroad  to  all  other  countries,  so 
that  the  truth  was  earlier  preached 
to  the  Gentiles  than  it  would  have 
been,  if  its  adherents  had  found  full 
occupation  at  home.  Acts  viii.  1  ; 
xi.  19  -  21  ;  xiii.  46-48.  Therefore, 
if  the  want  of  faith  in  the  Jews  had 
so  signally  been  overruled  for  "  the 
riches  of  the  Gentiles,"  and  their 
spiritual  advantage,  then  how  much 
more  likely  it  was  that  the  conversion 
of  the  Israelites  would  react  favor- 
ably upon  the  Gentile  world,  and  con- 
tribute to  the  wider  dominion  of  the 
faith  of  Jesus  !  -  If  the  faU  of  the 
chosen  was  so  potent  with  good,  how 
much  better  would  be  their  Christian- 
ization.  —  /  am  the  Apostle  of  the 
Gentiles^  &c.  He  boldly  avows  that 
his  mission  was  to  the  Gentiles  as 
well  as  to  the  Jews,  nay,  that  he  was 
pecuharly  the  messenger  of  the  Gos- 
pel to  heathendom.  Elsewhere  in 
this  work  the  remarkable  adaptation 
of  Paul  to  this  office  has  been  spoken 
of,  and  the  vast  sphere  of  his  mission- 
ary labors  described.  But  he  was  not 
exclusive  in  his  sympatliies,  though 
he  was  specially  the  Apostle  to  the 
Gentiles ;  he  wished  still  to  be  instru- 
mental of  the  greatest  good  to  his 
16 


fallen  countrymen,  and  he  magnified, 
enlarged  his  office,  so  as  to  include 
them  in  his  ample  labors,  sacrifices, 
and  prayers.  "  He  would  clasp  the 
universe  to  liis  heart,  and  keep  it 
warm."  —  Provolce  to  emulation .  The 
same  Greek  word  as  in  ver.  11,  and 
better  rendered  here  than  there  by 
the  term  jealousy.  Uniformity  in 
translation  is  also  very  desirable. — 
Life  from  the  dead.  This  seems  to 
be  not  a  literal  statement  that  the 
conversion  of  the  heathen  would  be 
a  resurrection  from  the  dead,  but  an 
hyperbole  of  the  gladness  and  tri- 
umph of  siich  a  change  as  their  em- 
bracing Christianity.  The  Orientals 
say  of  great  revolutions,  that  it  is 
"  as  if  the  resurrection-day  were 
come."  The  mind  of  Paul,  rising  and 
falhng  with  the  deep  pulsations  of 
strong  feeling  and  thought,  seizes  the 
most  vivid  images  to  portray  his  sub- 
ject, and  he  must  be  interpreted  in  a 
spirit  kindred  to  that  in  which  he 
wrote,  or  we  miss  entirely  the  scope 
of  his  argument  and  appeal. 

16.  It  has  been  observed  that  if  is 
used  in  the  original  no  less  than  eight 
times  in  ver.  12-21,  forming  a  series 
of  suppositions  designed  to  act  by 
way  of  conciliation  in  his  expostulat- 
ing with  the  Jews.  —  For  if  the  first- 
fruit  he  holy,  &c.  This  verse  con- 
tains two  figures  of  speech  meaning 
the  same  thing.  The  object  was  to 
show  what  encouragement  there  is 
that  Israel  would  be  redeemed.  This 
is  inferred,  first,  from  the  fact,  that,  if 


182^ 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


the  brandies.     And  if  some  of  the  branches  be  broken  off,  and  n 
thou,  bemg  a  wild  ohve-tree,  wert  grafFed  in  among  them,  and  with 
them  partakest  of  the  root  and  fatness  of  the  ohve-tree,  boast  not  is 
against  the  branches.     But  if  thou  boast,  thou  bearest  not  the  root, 
but  the  root  thee.     Thou  wiit  say  then,  The  branches  were  broken  19 
off,  that  I  might  be  graffed  in.     Well ;  because  of  unbelief  they  20 
were  broken  off,  and  thou  standest  by  faith.     Be  not  high-minded, 
but  fear :  for  if  God  spared  not  the  natural  branches,  take  heed  lest  21 


the  destination  of  the  first-fruit  was 
holiness,  then  the  main  lump  or  mass 
might  be  presumed  to  have  the  same 
destination ;  and  secondly,  that,  if  the 
root  of  the  tree  had  a  certain  charac- 
ter, then  the  branches  must  be  par- 
takers of  the  same  character.  As 
the  fathers  and  patriarchs  of  the 
Jev/ish  state  had  proved  holy  and 
faithful,  it  Avas  reasonable  to  hope 
that  the  race  would  carry  out  their 
historic  unity  and  destiny,  and  the 
children  of  Abraham  and  the  sub- 
jects of  Moses  would  prove,  in  the 
great  crisis  of  their  national  for- 
tunes, the  advent  of  Christianity, 
Avorthy  of  their  illustrious  and  de- 
voted ancestry. 

17-24.  This  passage  contains  a 
prolonged  illustration,  which  seems 
to  have  been  suggested  to  the  Apos- 
tle's mind  by  liis  figure  of  the  root 
and  branches,  in  ver.  IG.  There 
were  three  parties  to  be  represented, 
and  his  quick  and  teeming  imagina- 
tion fastens  upon  the  tree  as  their 
best  emblem.  Jer.  xi.  1 6 .  The  early 
fathers  of  the  Hebrew  commonwealth 
were  the  root,  the  trunk  and  branches 
v»^ere  the  Jewish  people,  and  the 
Gentiles  were  the  scions  which  were 
engrafted  upon  the  Jewish  stock, 
wliich  had  been  pruned  of  its  unfruit- 
ful branches  to  make  room  for  the 
new  settings.  The  first  inference 
was,  that,  if  the  root  was  good,  the 
branches  were  likewise  good.  The 
second  inference  was,  that,  if  the  tree 
had  been  trimmed  and  new  bcions 


had  been  set,  they  must  beware  of 
taking  airs  upon  themselves  over 
the  original  branches,  for  if  those 
branches  had  for  good  reasons  been 
exscinded,  then  much  more  might 
the  adopted  grafts  for  good  reasons 
suffer  a  hke  fortune.  The  third  in- 
ference was,  that  if  the  horticulturist 
unnaturally  engrafted  foreign  scions 
in  a  good  olive-tree,  the  presunift- 
tion  was  much  stronger  that,  if  oc- 
casion required,  he  would  re-engraft 
the  natural  branches  upon  their  own 
tree.  And  all  the  inferences  were 
hopeful  ones  both  for  the  Jews  and 
for  the  Gentiles,  and  also  full  of  ad- 
monition, as  shoAving  that  the  Great 
Disposer  Avas  no  respecter  of  persons, 
and  that  the  Jews  Avere  not  such 
favorites  that  they  would  escape  pun- 
ishment if  they  Avere  unfaithfiil,  and 
that  the  Gentiles  were  not  so  far  for- 
gotten or  neglected  that  they  would 
not  be  admitted  to  the  highest  piivi- 
leges  of  human  beings,  but  that  they 
again  must  be  upon  their  guard,  for 
if  the  first  election  of  the  Jcavs  could 
not  save  them  from  retribution  when 
they  apostatized  from  their  faith, 
much  less  would  the  second  election 
of  the  Gentiles  to  the  distinguished 
rank  of  Christians  avail  them  any- 
thing, if  they  betrayed  the  glorious 
cause  Avhich  had  been  given  them  In 
trust.  A  finer  intermingling  of  les- 
son and  Avarning  and  encourage- 
ment, or  a  more  beautiful  play  of  ap- 
peal to  the  various  motives  of  which 
human  nature  is  susceptible,  cannot 


XL] 


TO   THE  EOMANS. 


183 


22  lie  also  spare  not  thee.  Beliold  therefore  the  goodness  and  severity 
of  God :  on  them  which  fell,  severity ;  but  toward  thee,  goodness, 
if  thou  continue  in  his  goodness :  otherwise  thou  also  shalt  be  cut 

23  off.     And  they  also,  if  they  abide  not  still  in  unbeUef,  shall  be 

24  graffed  in :  for  God  is  able  to  graff  them  in  again.  For  if  thou 
wert  cut  out  of  the  olive-tree  which  is  wild  by  nature,  and  wert 
graffed  contrary  to  nature  into  a  good  olive-tree ;  how  much  more 
shall  these,  which  be  the  natural  branches,  be  graffed  into  their  own 


well  be  conceived.  For  we  see  by 
this  instance,  among  others,  what  a 
dramatic  master  of  hmnan  nature 
was  the  Apostle,  who  could  thus  argue 
with  persuasiveness  both  with  the 
prejudices  of  his  own  people  and  the 
ignorance  of  the  heathen.  —  And  thou, 
being  a  loild  olive-tree,  ivert  graffed  in, 
&c.  The  question  has  been  raised 
Avhether  the  Apostle  was  correct  in 
his  principles  of  horticulture,  and 
whether  the  custom  was  not  the  re- 
verse of  what  he  has  here  described, 
and  whether  it  was  not  customary  to 
engraft  good  scions  on  a  wild  stock 
rather  than  wild  scions  on  a  good 
stock.  But  to  this  objection  it  has 
been  replied,  that  both  ancient  and 
modern  writers  describe  such  a  pro- 
cess with  the  olive-tree  as  the  Apos- 
tle has  here  given,  so  that  his  illustra- 
tion is  an  apposite  one.  —  But  if  thou 
boast,  &c.  If  disposed  to  be  arro- 
gant over  the  Jews,  remember  how 
the  case  stands  between  you  and 
them,  that  they  were  the  original 
people,  and  you  the  secondary  elec- 
tion.—  Thou  standest  bg  faith.  This 
verse  is  a  memorable  testimony  and 
proof,  that,  though  the  first  bestow- 
ment  of  privileges  was  by  the  sole 
appointment  of  God,  and  "  it  is  not 
In  man  that  walketh  to  direct  his 
steps,"  yet  the  retention  and  con- 
tinued enjoyment  of  their  religious 
blessings  did  most  essentially  de- 
pend upon  the  fidelity  or  the  neglect 
of  the  recipients.  By  works  of  faith, 
or  sins  of  unbeUef,  Jew  and  Gentile 


ahke  would  stand  or  fall  before  the 
impartial  law  of  Christianity.  There 
was  no  room  therefore  for  pride,  but 
every  reason  for  solicitude.  —  Be  not 
high-minded,  but  fear.  These  two 
states  of  mind  are  opposite  to  one 
another,  as  faith  and  unbelief  are, 
above.  The  fear  is  not  meant  to  be 
a  slavish  dread,  but  a  reasonable 
anxiety  and  carefulness.  —  For  if  God 
spared  not  the  natural  branches,  &c. 
Palfrey's  English  edition  of  Gries- 
bach  adds  as  the  concluding  clause 
of  ver.  21,  "  perhaps  he  will  not  spare 
thee."  John  xv.  2-6.  —  If  thou  con- 
tinue in  his  goodness,  &c.  If  they 
abide  not  still  in  unbelief,  &c.  AYhlle 
one  class  of  expressions  would  indi- 
cate that  a  divine  fate  and  necessity 
determined  all  things,  and  that  man- 
kind were  but  passive  and  helpless 
instruments  in  the  divine  hand, 
another  class  speaks  with  great  clear- 
ness and  emphasis  of  the  liberty  and 
free  agency  of  man,  and  the  fearful 
responslbleness  resting  upon  him. 
So  far  from  inculcating  the  doctrines 
of  absolute  decrees,  of  irresistible 
grace,  and  of  the  necessary  persever- 
ance of  the  saints  in  holiness  or  of 
sinners  in  wickedness,  Paul  is  at 
every  stage  of  his  argument  putting 
in  an  appeal  to  conscience,  and  call- 
ing upon  his  readers  to  be  faithful. 
He  thus  qualifies,  not  only  the  doc- 
trinal chapters  of  the  middle  of  the 
Epistle  with  the  ethical  chapters  of 
the  closing  part,  but  he  intersperses 
throughout  the  warnings  against  evil, 


184 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


olive-tree  ?     For  I  would  not,  brethren,  that  ye  should  be  ignorant  25 
of  this  mystery,  lest  ye  should  be  wise  in  your  own  conceits,  that 
blindness  in  part  is  hapi^ened  to  Israel,  until  the  fulness  of  the 
Gentiles  be  come  in.     And  so  all  Israel  shall  be  saved :  as  it  is  2q 
written,  There  shall  come  out  of  Zion  the  DeHverer,  and  shall 
turn  away  ungodhness  from  Jacob :  for  this  is  my  covenant  unto  27 
them,  when  I  shall  take  away  their  sins.      As   concerning  the  2s 


and  promises  to  the  faithful,  and  calls 
to  duty.  He  is  therefore  the  last 
man  in  the  world  to  be  quoted  in 
favor  of  any  relaxation  in  working 
out  our  salvation,  any  remittance  of 
labor,  any  despair  of  human  abihty, 
or  any  depreciation  of  the  unspeak- 
able value,  necessity,  and  possibihty 
of  the  Christian  virtues  and  graces. 
And  whenever  he  is  thus  quoted,  it 
is  by  the  method  of  employing  only 
one  set  of  his  terms,  roundly  assert- 
ing the  total  action  of  God  in  every- 
thing, without  the  other  set,  which 
would  suitably  limit  and  qualify  them. 
25.  Brethren.  However  earnest- 
ly the  Apostle  argued,  and  however 
forcibly  he  combated  the  prejudices 
of  his  converts,  he  would  not  allow 
them  to  forget  that  they  were  breth- 
ren one  of  another,  children  of  one 
common  Parent.  Where  did  Socra- 
tes, Plato,  Cicero,  or  Seneca  ever 
generahze  so  grandly  and  philosophi- 
cally all  men,  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
bond  and  free,  into  one  brother- 
hood ?  —  This  mystery,  i.  e.  that  the 
Gentiles  were  to  be  admitted  to  the 
Christian  kingdom,  while  the  unbe- 
lieving Jews  would  be  rejected.  This 
extension  of  piivileges,  and  this  vis- 
itation of  penalties,  were  secrets  hid- 
den hitherto,  but  now  made  known. 
There  are  still  many  mysteries,  many 
hidden  secrets  in  rehgion,  but  there 
are  no  contradictions  nor  absurd- 
ities ;  there  is  nothing  against  reason, 
though  there  is  much  above  reason. 
—  The  fulness  of  the  Gentiles,  &c. 
Jesus  expresses  a  similar  thought  in 


Luke  xxi.  24.  One  of  the  secrets  of 
understanding  the  writings  of  St. 
Paul  is  to  recognize  his  almost  uni- 
versal use  of  the  figure  of  antithesis. 
He  balances  thought  against  thought, 
and  term  against  term.  Hence  the 
need  of  caution  in  understanding  his 
style,  and  in  taking  his  illustrations 
in  too  literal  a  vein.  Hard  as  it  might 
be,  it  was  yet  needful  to  allow  that  a 
partial  blindness  had  fallen  upon  Is- 
rael, and  meantime  the  Gentiles  were 
entering  the  Church  in  great  num- 
bers. The  disciples  of  Jesus  were 
first  called  Christians,  not  at  Jerusa- 
lem, but  at  Antioch  in  Syria;  and 
while  the  Apostles  wrote  letters  to 
almost  all  the  great  cities  of  the 
Gentile  world,  Rome,  Corinth,  and 
Ephesus,  they  directed  none  to  Mount 
Zion. 

26,  27.  Is.  xxvii.  9  ;  lix.  20.  Lard- 
ner  paraphrases  it  thus :  "  In  this 
way,  according  to  this  method  of 
Divine  Providence,  all  good  and  well- 
disposed  men,  both  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles will  be  saved,  that  is,  will  be 
brought  into  the  way  of  salvation, 
will  be  taught  by  the  Gospel,  or  will 
embrace  the  means  of  salvation  pro- 
posed therein ;  the  Jews  being  all 
along  provoked  to  emulation  by  the 
Gentiles,  and  the  Gentiles  being  con- 
firmed in  their  faith  by  the  circum- 
stances of  the  Jewish  people." — My 
covenant.  Jer.  xxxi.  31,  34,  and 
elsewhere  in  the  prophets.  —  Take 
away  their  sins^  i.  e.  to  provide  the 
means  of  their  effectual  removal. 
Jesus  was  the  Lamb  of   God,  that 


XI. 


TO  THE  ROMANS. 


185 


gospel,  they  are  enemies  for  jour  sakes ;  but  as  touching  the  elec- 

29  tion,  they  are  beloved  for  the  fathers'  sakes.     For  the  gifts  and 

30  calling  of  God  are  without  repentance.     For  as  ye  in  times  past 
have  not  beheved  God,  yet  have  now  obtained  mercy  through  their 

31  unbelief:  even  so  have  these  also  now  not  believed,  that  through 
3-2  your  mercy  they  also  may  obtain  mercy.    For  God  hath  concluded 


came  to  take  away  the  sin  of  the 
world,  John  i.  29,  36,  not  in  a  me- 
chanical, but  in  a  spiritual  sense. 
His  mission  was  to  regenerate  human 
nature  with  new  motives  and  princi- 
ples, so  as  to  save  men  from  sin,  and 
from  sinning,  and  to  create  the  an- 
tagonistic and  exclusive  state  of  hoK- 
ness  and  love. 

28,  29.  So  far  as  the  Gospel  is  con- 
cerned, the  alienation  of  the  Jews 
accrued  to  your  benefit,  but  so  far  as 
the  election  is  concerned,  the  Jews 
stih  continue  to  occupy  a  peculiar 
position  of  interest  and  affection,  on 
account  of  the  long  line  of  illustrious 
patriarchs  and  prophets  who  have 
adorned  their  faith. —  The  gifts  and 
calling  of  God,  &c. ;  i.  e.  God  repents 
not  of  his  disposal  of  things,  and  re- 
calls not  his  appropriation  of  benefits 
to  his  creatures.  Tliis  is  a  caution 
against  anthropathic  or  humanly 
conceived  ideas  of  the  nature  and 
plans  of  the  Supreme  Being,  and  it 
explains  what  was  meant  by  those 
earlier  forms  of  language  in  the  Old 
Testament,  where  he  is  described  as 
having  repented  of  the  creation  of 
man,  or  of  the  execution  of  any  of 
his  designs.  Gen.  vi.  6 ;  Ex.  xxxii. 
14 ;  1  Sam.  xv.  29,  35  ;  Jonah  iv.  2. 
The  assignment  of  human  members, 
senses,  and  passions  to  the  Deity  was 
a  necessary  mode  of  conveying  relig- 
ious ideas  to  the  minds  of  the  early 
races  in  the  infancy  of  their  develop- 
ment ;  but  by  erroneous  and  literal 
methods  of  interpretation,  it  has 
proved  in  later  times  a  most  prolific 
source  of  prejudice  and  infidelity. 
This  verse,  therefore,  is  the  best 
16* 


comment    upon    many    passages    of 
Scripture. 

30,  31.  These  verses  repeat  the 
same  thought  contained  in  the  illus- 
tration of  the  olive-tree,  and  in  ver. 
11,  12,  15,  25,  that,  in  the  wonder- 
working providence  of  God,  even  the 
unbelief  of  the  Israelites  would  re- 
dound to  the  conversion  of  the  Gen- 
tiles and  the  -wider  extension  of  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  So  infinite  is 
the  mysterious  wisdom  of  the  AU- 
perfect  One,  that  the  seeming  fail- 
ures and  flaws  of  this  plan  achieve 
a  greater  good.  All  this  play  and 
interchange  of  benefits  in  the  great 
plan,  from  Jews  to  Gentiles,  and  from 
Gentiles  to  Jews,  were  also  most  hap- 
pily adapted,  when  they  were  under- 
stood, to  soften  the  bitter  feuds  of 
nationality  and  religion,  and  to  reveal 
to  them  the  fact  that  they  were  stand- 
ing both  together  on  one  common 
platform  of  the  Divine  mercy ;  for  if 
children  of  God,  then  were  they 
brethren  of  one  another. —  Through 
your  mercy  \  i.  e.  the  mercy  shown 
to  you. —  Obtain  mercy.  'When,  after 
the  present  rejection  of  the  Jews,  they 
are  again  taken  into  the  Church,  it 
is  described  in  this  term  of  "  obtain- 
ing mercy." 

32.  Concluded  them  all  in  unbelief 
Sec.  Better,  included.  As  the  pre- 
vious verses  suggested  considerations 
of  reciprocal  benefit  as  motives  to 
love  and  good-will  between  the  two 
great  parties,  so  this  one  presents 
views  to  humble  their  pride  and  re- 
duce them  to  one  level.  The  Jews 
had  no  reason  to  assume  any  superi- 
ority over  the  Gentiles  on  account  of 


186 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


tliem  all  iii  unbelief,  that  he  might  have  mercy  upon  all.     O  the  33 
dejDth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God ! 
how  unsearchable  are  his  judgments,  and  his  ways  past  finding 


their  earlier  position  in  the  majestic 
plan  of  revelation,  nor  the  Gentiles 
any  cause  to  despise  the  Jews  because 
they  had  welcomed  Chiistianity  more 
cordially  than  the  mass  of  the  cliil- 
dren  of  Abraham.  The  lesson  to 
both  sides  was  humility,  solicitude  to 
be  faithful,  gratitude  to  God,  and 
mutual  fraternity.  What  a  different 
history  would  the  last  nineteen  cen- 
turies have  recorded,  if  the  reasonable 
and  merciful  counsels  of  Paul  had 
prevailed  instead  of  those  malignant 
and  persecuting  passions  which,  under 
the  holy  garb  and  in  the  sacred  name 
of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  waged  the 
wars  of  the  Crusades,  built  the  In- 
quisition, banished  and  killed  the 
Jews,  and  dyed  every  Christian  coun- 
try with  streams  of  human  blood ! 
And  now,  will  not  mankind  cease 
their  horrid  fratricide,  and  henceforth 
learn  to  abstain  from  the  hatred  that 
twice  curses ;  that  curses  him  that 
indulges  it,  and  curses  him  that  suffers 
from  it  ?  The  dark  clouds  of  war 
rolling  up  the  Eastern  horizon,  and 
enveloping  all  Europe  and  no  small 
part  of  Asia  and  Africa  in  their  folds, 
declare  the  yet  virtual  Paganism  of 
Christian  nations,  and  reveal  the  im- 
mense extent  of  that  spiritual  regen- 
eration and  pacification  of  the  human 
family  which  Paul  did  so  much  to 
further,  but  which  is  stiU  to  be  the 
work  of  ages  to  come.  —  That  he 
might  have  mercy  upon  all.  The  word 
all  is  not  indeed  to  be  urged  in  such 
cases  beyond  its  natural  and  easy 
import  into  an  extreme  literalness ; 
but  one  cannot  help  remarking  that 
the  mercy  is  spoken  of  as  commen- 
surate with  the  unbelief,  and  keeping 
even  step  with  it  in  the  unfolding  of' 
the  glorious  scheme  of  salvation.  Gal. 
iii.  22.     It  is  difficult  to  understand 


the  force  of  such  passages,  unless  they 
contemplate  in  the  boundless  range 
of  the  future  a  final  and  entire 
restoration  of  all  the  human  family, 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  and  all  the  indi- 
viduals of  each  class,  under  the  edu- 
cational and  disciplinary  nurture  of 
God  to  holiness  and  happiness.  But 
with  such  a  belief,  they  become  truly 
a  Gospel,  glad  tidings  of  great  joy, 
and  they  furnish  the  most  encouraging 
and  heart-cheering  motives  to  exer- 
tion in  the  cause  of  human  redemp- 
tion. 

33.  0  the  depth  of  the  riches,  &c. 
Job  xi.  7-9;  Isa.  Iv.  8,  9.  This 
forms  the  concluding  strain  of  the 
Apostle's  inference,  from  the  whole 
doctrinal  ground  he  had  been  survey- 
ing, of  the  relations  of  Christianity  to 
the  two  principal  parties  concerned 
with  it;  namely,  the  Jews,  already 
favored  with  a  preparatory  revela- 
tion, and  the  Gentiles,  who  had  been 
trying  their  natural  experiments  of 
civilization  in  Greece,  Rome,  and 
other  countries.  Both  had  signally 
failed  of  achieving,  under  their  re- 
spective systems  of  Law  and  of  Wis- 
dom, the  highest  objects  contem- 
plated in  man's  position  in  this  world, 
and  had  demonstrated  the  need  of 
the  superior  system  of  faith  offered 
by  Christianity.  All  were  included  in 
unbelief,  and  upon  all  God  had  mercy 
in  sending  his  Son  into  the  world,  not 
to  condemn,  but  to  save  it,  and  at  once 
to  be  a  light  to  hghten  the  Gentiles 
and  the  glory  of  his  people  Israel.  As 
the  Apostle  looked  upon  this  entire 
map  of  Divine  Providence,  and  saw 
its  seeming  discords  resolved  into  a 
higher  harmony,  and  all  its  parts  com- 
bining together  in  the  disclosure  of 
the  glorious  intentions  of  God,  and  in 
the  development  of  the  holiness  and 


XL] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


187 


34  out !     For  who  liath  known  the  mind  of  the  Lord  ?  or  who  hath 

35  been  his  counsellor  ?  or  who  hath  first  given  to  him,  and  it  shall 

36  be  recomjDensed  unto  liim  again  ?     For  of  him,  and  through  him, 
and  to  him,  are  all  things :  to  whom  he  glory  for  ever.     Amen. 


blessedness  of  mankind,  he  breaks 
forth  into  exclamations  of  gratitude 
and  joy,  of  wonder  and  adoration,  be- 
fore such  infinite  greatness  and  good- 
ness. There  is  a  most  valuable  les- 
son taught  by  this  passage.  For  if 
the  Apostle,  after  so  many  chapters 
of  discussion  and  argument,  in  which 
he  would  seem  to  have  made  every- 
thing clear  to  his  own  mind,  if  not  to 
that  of  his  readers,  is  yet  obliged  to 
fiill  back  and  repose  in  the  boundless 
wisdom,  power,  and  goodness  of  Al- 
mighty God,  as  the  best  explanation 
of  all  difficulties,  and  the  most  satis- 
factory justification  of  the  whole  plan 
of  life,  revelation,  and  futui'ity,  then 
how  appropriate  it  is  for  every  hum- 
bler student  of  the  same  divine  lore  to 
have  more  faith  than  knowledge,  and 
more  charity  than  dogmatism,  upon 
questions  of  such  scope  and  per- 
plexity ! 

34,  35.  See  Isa.  xl.  13  ;  Job.  xv.  8, 
xfi.  11;  1  Cor.  ii.  16.  The  Apostle 
quotes  freely  from  the  elder  Scrip- 
tures such  sentences  as  illustrated  the 
infinite  sufficiency  and  wisdom  of  the 
Divine  plan,  and  the  necessary  de- 
pendence and  obligation  of  man  to 
the  Giver  of  all  good.  The  language 
is  not  exact,  and  it  shows  conclusively 
that  the  quotations  were  probably 
made  from  memory,  and  that  no  such 
claim  as  that  of  plenary  inspiration 
or  perfect  verbal  accuracy  can  be 
maintained  for  the  Epistles;  as,  in- 
deed, what  use  would  they  subserve, 
if  they  could  be  made  good,  that  is 
not  better  fulfilled  by  the  moral  and 
spiritual  inspiration  of  truth  and  love 
which  it  is  universally  conceded  ani- 
mates every  sentence  with  life  and 
power  ? 

36.  This  verse  is  a  doxology ;  and 


as  such  it  is  much  more  worthy  of 
general  use  than  such  ascriptions  as 
terminate  the  prayers,  chants,  and 
graces  of  many  modern  Christians, 
and  are  designed  to  teach  or  in- 
sinuate the  unscriptural  doctrine  of 
the  Trinity.  For  example,  "For 
Christ's  sake,"  a  phrase  occurring 
only  once  in  the  New  Testament, 
Eph.  iv.  32,  and  mistranslated  there 
for  in  or  through  Christ:  also,  "  Glory 
to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son,  and 
to  the  Holy  Ghost ;  as  it  was  in  the 
beginmng,  is  now,  and  ever  shall  be, 
world  without  end "  ;  —  "To  whom, 
with  Thee  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  all 
honor  and  glory,  world  without  end." 
Why  do  our  fellow-Christians  persist 
in  using  so  many  of  these  unauthor- 
ized and  unscriptural  phrases,  instead 
of  returning  to  the  simpHcity  and 
beauty  of  the  sacred  word.  —  Are  all 
things^  &c.  I.  e.  from  God  as  the 
Source,  through  him  as  the  Means  or 
Instrument,  and  to  him  as  the  End, 
are  all  things.  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson 
has  wefi  paraphrased  the  sentiment 
in  the  words : 

"  Prom  thee,  Great  God,  we  spring  ;  to  thee  we 
tend, 
Path,  Motive,  Guide,  Original,  and  End." 

Upon  this  concluding  passage  01s- 
hausen  remarks :  "  This  whole  con- 
templation of  the  wonderful  ways  of 
the  Lord,  who  knows  how  to  gather 
his  flock  unto  himself  out  of  all  lan- 
guages, kindreds,  and  tongues,  was 
assuredly  fitted  to  excite  a  feeling  of 
amazement  and  admiration.  To  this 
feeling,  then,  the  Apostle  gave  vent  in 
an  exclamation,  which  is  indeed  short, 
but  deeply  felt,  and  full  of  great 
ideas This  bold  and  power- 
ful flight  seems,  however,  to  have  a 
foundation  only  on  the  supposition  of 


188 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


CHAPTER   Xn. 

The  General  Practical  Duties  of  Christianity  to  God  and  our  Felknc-men. 
I  BESEECH  you  therefore,  bretlu-en,  by  tlie  mercies  of  God,  that  ye 


an  entire  restoration.  If  only  some, 
or  but  a  few  in  all,  are  blessed,  how 
is  God's  wisdom  to  become  manifest 
in  the  result?  But  if  all  become 
blessed,  without  prejudice  to  free-will 
or  justice,  this  assuredly  appears  as  a 
miracle  of  God.  The  docti-ine  of  a 
restoration  has  very  many  passages 
of  St.  Paul's  Epistles  apparently  in  its 
favor." 

A  spirit  of  energetic  hope  and  of 
boundless  love  heaves  in  the  breast 
of  the  Apostle,  and  we  cannot  recon- 
cile his  large  and  general  terms  with 
the  supposition  that  there  will  not  be 
a  final  restoration  of  the  human  family 
to  virtue  and  eternal  life.  He  speaks 
in  the  doctrinal  part  of  the  Epistle, 
which  is  here  concluded,  of  election 
and  condemnation,  but  in  most  in- 
stances he  evidently  refers  to  the 
possession  and  use,  or  the  reverse,  of 
spiritual  privileges  in  the  present  life, 
not  to  the  final  condition  of  the  soul 
in  a  future  world ;  and  where  he 
does  enter  the  vast  scenes  of  futurity, 
whether  here  or  hereafter,  he  lifts  up 
such  a  strain  of  devout  and  jubilant 
praise  to  the  Almighty  Father,  as 
seems  only  to  meet  with  its  full  justi- 
fication In  the  restitution  of  all  things, 
and  the  reconciliation  of  the  whole 
family  of  mankind  to  the  love,  trust, 
and  obedience  of  the  holy  and  benev- 
olent Father,  through  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ.  1  Cor.  xv.  24-28;  Eph.  i. 
20-23;  2  Tim.  i.  10. 

CHAPTER  xn. 

Having  completed  the  doctrinal 
portion  of  his  letter  to  the  Roman 
Christians,  St.  Paul  proceeds  to  dis- 
cuss the  ethics  of  the  Gospel,  and 
their  relations  and  applications  to  all 
the  conditions  in  which  his  hearers 


and  readers  were  situated.  But  the 
hfe  of  mankind  on  earth  is  in  its 
essential  characteristics  so  nearly 
alike  in  every  age  and  country,  that 
the  duties  here  inculcated  and  mi- 
nutely specified  are  such  as  are  obliga- 
tory in  their  general  outlines,  if  not 
in  all  their  details,  upon  the  Christian 
Church  everywhere.  In  this  chapter 
he  expounds  the  duties  of  the  disci- 
ples, first  to  God,  ver.  1-8,  and 
then  more  at  length  their  social  and 
religious  obhgations  to  one  another, 
ver.  9-21.  Chapter  xlli.  treats  of 
the  Christian's  duty  to  the  state,  and 
the  general  embodiment  of  all  service 
and  obligation  in  the  law  of  love. 
Chapters  xiv.  and  xv.  relate  to  the 
condition  of  Paul's  converts  In  hea- 
then communities,  and  their  duties 
thence  arising,  with  personal  matters 
touching  his  writing  to  them,  and  his 
promised  visit  at  Rome.  Chapter » 
xvl.  ends  the  Epistle  with  friend- 
ly salutations,  cautions,  and  benedic- 
tions. 

1.  /  beseech  you  tlierefore,  &c. 
He  earnestly  entreats  his  brethren, 
whose  hearts  might  be  supposed  to 
be  touched  by  the  powerful  argu- 
ments and  appeals  he  had  thus  far 
addressed  to  them,  to  give  attention 
to  the  exhortations  which  follow,  and 
the  logical  inference  from  the  views 
of  God's  mercy  which  had 'been  pre- 
sented was,  that  they  should  fulfil 
their  part  in  self-consecration,  faith, 
and  obedience.  If,  then,  any  conclu- 
sion could  be  drawn  from  his  remarks 
upon  faith  In  previous  chapters,  or 
the  election  to  religious  privileges, 
unfavorable  to  the  practical  duties  of 
hfe,  it  is  entirely  corrected  by  the  les- 
sons now  given.  Paul  was  not  opposed 
to  good  works  as  works,  but  to  Avorks 
from  such  a  principle  as  the  Law,  that 


XII.] 


TO   THE  EOMANS. 


189 


present  jour  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  unto  God, 
2  which  is  your  reasonable  service.     And  be  not  conformed  to  tliis 


did  not  cover  the  whole  of  human  na- 
ture, or  go  down  to  its  deepest  roots, 
as  compared  with  works  from  the  liv- 
ing motives  of  faith,  that  encompassed 
all  faculties,  and  laid  hold  of  higher 
powers  in  God  and  Christ,  and 
reached  forward  to  another  life.  The 
law  of  Christian  duty  was  not  to  be 
less,  but  more,  strict  than  the  law  of 
Jewish  duty  ;  but  it  was  re-enforced 
in  its  practical  workings  by  more 
persuasive  and  powerful  motives. 
The  Old  Testament  cannot  fui-nish 
such  a  catalogue  of  good  works  to  be 
done,  as  this  discourse  of  the  Apostle 
of  faith ;  nor  can  the  classic  or  Orien- 
tal literature  produce  such  an  essay 
upon  ethics.  These  considerations 
should  react  upon  the  foregoing  chap- 
ters of  the  doctrines  of  Paul,  and 
should  teach  us  what  a  wrong  we  do 
him",  and  what  a  wresting  we  make  of 
his  words,  when  we  cite  him  as  an 
Luthority  against  the  value,  necessity, 
and  imperative  obligation  of  good 
works.  On  the  contrary,  he  digged 
deep  and  laid  his  foundation  of  Chris- 
tian truth  firm  and  broad,  in  order 
that  he  might  raise  the  noblest  super- 
structure of  character  and  hfe,  which 
the  world  had  seen  since  the  incar- 
nation. —  Your  todies,  i.  e.  because 
they  stand  simply  for  yourselves  ;  or 
because  the  body  of  the  animal  was 
the  offering  made  in  the  heathen" and 
Jewish  sacrifices ;  or  because  the 
body  was  the  lowest  part  of  human 
nature,  and  most  required  tliis  spirit- 
ual sanctification.  A  combination  of 
such  reasons  may  have  determined 
the  choice  of  the  word.  —  A  living 
sacrifice,  in  contradistinction  to  the 
dead  animals  which  were  offered  at 
the  altars.  —  Hobj,  i.  e.  free  from 
blemish  or  defect,  as  was  required  of 
the  offerings  made  to  the  gods  among 
the  heathen,  or  in  the  temple  service 
at  Jerusalem.    Mai.  i.  7,  8.  —  Accept- 


ahle  unto  God.  That  is,  well-pleas- 
ing to  him. —  Your  reasonable  service, 
your  spiritual  ministry,  your  service 
of  the  mind  and  heart,  and  not  mere 
external  observances.  This  is  the 
summary  of  what  went  before.  It  is 
in  reference  to  the  same  thought,  that 
the  Apostle  says  elsewhere,  ''  Bodily 
exercise  profiteth  little,"  1  Tim.  iv.  8. 
By  wliich  he  meant  that  the  ascetic 
and  sacrificial  ordinances  of  religion 
could  not  compare  in  value  Avith  the 
interior  and  spiritual  exercises  of 
faith,  charity,  and  hope.  All  the 
services  and  duties  enjoined  by  Chris- 
tianity are  eminently  reasonable,  and 
require  for  their  performance,  not 
only  deep  religious  faith,  but  strong 
common  sense.  In  this  opening  verse 
is  unfolded  in  fcAv,  but  fit,  words  the 
entire  progrannne  of  practical  Chris- 
tianity. Old  things  are  passed  away ; 
behold,  all  things  are  become  new. 
The  system  of  an  exclusive  priest- 
hood, of  sacrifices  of  the  dead  bodies 
of  animals  and  the  fruits  of  the  earth, 
and  of  painful  and  expensive  pilgrim- 
ages, bodily  austerities,  and  macera- 
tions, had  been  superseded  by  the 
reasonable  service  and  worship  of 
the  Gospel,  in  which  all  were  priests 
unto  God,  and  the  offering  was  to  be 
a  willing  and  pure-minded  dedication 
of  one's  self,  all  the  powers  of  body 
and  mind,  all  possessions,  and  influ- 
ences, and  gifts,  to  the  service  of  God, 
and  Christ,  and  mankind.  The  suc- 
ceeding specifications  of  duty  were 
but  the  branches,  boughs,  leaves, 
flowers,  and  fruits  of  the  one  total 
consecration  and  act  of  faith,  which 
constituted  the  main  trunk  of  the 
Christian  tree. 

2.  The  first  obstruction  to  this  su- 
perior life  of  self-consecration  comes 
from  the  world,  the  circumstances 
around  one,  and  therefore  the  warn- 
ing  of   the   Apostle  is   here    given 


190 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


world:  but  be  ye  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  your  mind,  that 
ye  may  prove  what  is  that  good,  and  acceptable,  and  perfect  will 
of  God.     For  I  say,  through  the  grace  given  unto  me,  to  every  3 


against  the  sin  of  conformity  and 
compliance.  Man  is  not  made  in  the 
present  state ;  he  is  making,  or  rather 
he  is  scarcely  begun  to  be  made. 
He  is  but  a  germ,  a  seed,  an  acorn,  a 
bulb.  He  is  all  the  time  in  a  process 
of  creation , — earth-creation,  self-crea- 
tion, God-creation.  He  is  not  there- 
fore judged  yet  as  to  what  he  will  be 
or  do,  or  how  he  will  enjoy  or  suffer. 
For  the  scaffolding  is  still  around  him, 
the  bricks  and  mortar  are  lying  aU 
about,  and  the  sound  of  the  trowel  and 
the  hammer  and  the  plane  and  the 
saw  give  note  that  here  is  a  house,  a 
building,  a  human  habitation,  an  in- 
carnation and  temple  of  the  Divinity. 
The  question  which  the  Apostle  dis- 
cusses in  the  text  is  whether  this  work 
shall  have  for  its  pattern  an  earthly 
or  a  heavenly  style  of  arcliitecture. 
The  Catholic  Testament  reads.  Be 
reformed  in  the  newness  of  your 
mind.  The  germ  of  this  new  hfe  is 
in  the  mind,  which  can  be  regener- 
ated by  the  Gospel,  and  changed 
not  into  the  coarse  and  earthy  image, 
but  into  the  fine  and  heavenly  one. 
This  process  of  self-formation  and 
spiritual  assimilation  is  indeed  ever- 
more going  on  in  us,  whether  we  will 
it  or  not,  whether  we  know  it  or  not. 
We  arc  constantly  growing  worse  or 
better,  more  earthly  or  more  heaven- 
ly-minded. The  exhortation  here  is 
to  Avatch  over  this  process,  and  guard 
against  an  easy  subsidence  into  the 
follies  and  vices  of  our  time,  and 
claim  and  pursue  the  ever  nobler 
good  that  is  above  us,  and  that  hangs 
as  rich,  ripe  fruit  just  Avithin  our 
reach  if  we  would  put  forth  adven- 
turous hands  and  pluck  it.  —  That  ye 
may  prove.  John  vii.  17  ;  Ps.  xxv.  9. 
As  much  as  to  say,  such  a  renewed 
mind  and  character,  built  after  the 


divine  and  Christian  type,  is  the  touch- 
stone of  what  is  the  will  of  God.  We 
emerge  from  the  darkness  of  igno- 
rance, and  petty  cares,  and  earthly 
environments,  into  the  clear  azure 
of  superior  and  heavenly  knoAvledge, 
through  the  portal  of  this  renewed 
mind  and  spiritual  life.  We  see  only 
so  much  hght  as  we  use,  and  we  taste  i 
only  so  much  food  as  we  eat,  and  we 
possess  and  enjoy  only  so  much  good  ■., 
as  we  appropriate  and  incorporate.  I 
—  That  good,  and  acceptable,  and  per- 
fect. These  may  better  be  under- 
stood as  adjectives  used  as  nouns,  \ 
thus,  the  good,  the  well-jjleasing,  the 
perfect;  and  these  are  synonymous 
Avith  the  AAdll  of  God,  and  Avhat  consti- 
tutes that  Avill  as  it  regards  our  moral 
conduct  and  spiritual  life.  The  ideal 
of  spiritual  excellence  is  described  In 
these  terms,  and  the  higher  we  rise  in 
the  pursuit  and  acquisition  of  these 
qualities,  and  the  more  entirely  our 
mind  Is  renewed  from  Avithin  to  cor- 
respond to  them,  the  more  clear  and 
impressive  does  our  knowledge  be- 
come of  what  truly  is  the  will  of  God, 
and  what  are  his  purposes  concern- 
ing us  and  all  things. 

3.  The  grace  given  unto  me.  The 
apostolic  office  and  authority,  which 
rendered  it  no  assumption  on  his  part 
to  counsel  and  to  command  his  con-  | 
verts.  Humility  Is  the  pioneer  of 
virtue  Avhich  he  sets  forth  In  his  enu- 
meration. For  only  as  the  Christian 
possesses  this  quality  Is  he  prepared 
to  act, well  his  part  in  that  difficult 
and  diversified  sphere  of  duty  and 
trial  Into  which  he  is  about  to  Intro- 
duce him,  in  the  succeeding  catalogue 
of  virtues  and  graces,  high  and  beauti- 
ful, but  hard  Avon  and  easily  lost.  — 
To  every  man  that  is  among  tjou.  No 
matter  "how  liighly  exalted  any  one 


XILJ 


TO  THE  ROMANS. 


191 


man  that  is  among  you,  not  to  tliink  of  himself  more  highly  than 

he  ought  to  think;  but  to  think  soberly,  according  as  God  hath 

4  dealt  to  every  man  the  measure  of  faith.     For  as  we  have  many 

members  in  one  body,  and  all  members  have  not  the  same  office ; 

6-60  we,  heing  many,  are  one  body  in  Christ,  and  every  one  members 

6  one  of  another.     Havuig  then  gifts  differing  according  to  the  grace 


might  be  at  Eorne,  the  capital  of  the 
•world,  by  rank,  birth,  nation,  or  office, 
the  Apostle  felt  entitled  by  his  office 
to  give  him  those  sph-itual  directions 
which  all  needed  in  achieving  the 
work  of  the  Christian  character. — 
To  tliink  soherhj.  "  True  humility 
is  the  right  and  healthy  view  of  our- 
selves and  our  position." 

The  saint  that  wears  heaven's  brightest  crown 
In  deepest  adoration  bends  ; 
The  weight  of  glory  bows  him  down 
Then  most  when  most  liis  soul  ascends  :  — 
»  Nearest  the  throne  itself  must  be 
The  footstool  of  humility." 

—  The  measure  of  faitli.  Tliis  was 
the  criterion  of  standing  in  the  Chris- 
tian Church.  Each  one  was  to  oc- 
cupy the  position  assigned  him  in  the 
providence  and  grace  of  God  with 
contentment,  and  without  either  am- 
bitiously grasping  at  a  higher  position 
than  truly  belonged  to  him,  or  indo- 
lently sinking  below  the  one  which 
his  gifts  justified  him  in  holding. 
The  lesson  is,  Suum  culque,  his  own 
to  each  one.     Gal.  vi.  4. 

4,  5.  He  used  the  well-known  illus- 
tration of  the  limbs  and  members  of 
the  human  body  to  describe  the  dif- 
ferent offices  and  functions  of  the 
several  orders  in  the  Church  of  Christ. 
It  is  a  most  apposite  comparison  ;  for 
it  justifies  the  system  of  Revelation 
by  an  appeal  to  the  system  of  Nature, 
and  preaches  contentment  by  the 
argument  of  necessity ;  for  as  all  can- 
not be  the  eye,  some  must  be  the 
hands,  and  some  the  feet ;  and  it 
satisfies  the  sense  of  usefulness  by  the 
reflection,  that  all  are  necessary  in 
their  places,  and  appeals  to  the  senti- 


ment of  union  in  Christ,  and  respon- 
sibility to  him  as  the  head  of  the 
common  body.  This  is  a  favorite 
illustration  of  Paul's,  and  he  employs 
it  on  several  occasions.  1  Cor.  xii. 
12-27;  Eph.  iv.  25;  v.  30. 

6-8.  He  proceeds  to  specify  the 
diffijrent  functions  of  the  several 
members  of  the  Christian  Church, 
some  higher  and  some  lower,  but  all 
necessary  in  their  places  for  the  com- 
plete working  of  the  body  of  Avliich 
Jesus  Christ  was  the  head.  —  Gfts. 
These  charisms,  or  special  gifts,  range 
from  the  office  of  an  apostle  to  that 
of  a  deacon ;  and  seem  to  include 
both  the  special  and  the  natural 
duties  assigned  to  different  individu- 
als. As  remarked  by  Thorn,  "  It  is 
not  possible  to  define  the  functions 
of  the  several  individualities  of  office 
and  of  operation,  to  which  St.  Paul 
assigns  a  place  in  the  administration 
of  the  early  Church.  Some  of  these 
relate  to  the  vivid  communication  of 
spiritual  energy,  which  a  soul  deeply 
moved  itself  can  impart  to  others; 
some,  to  the  more  practical  qualifica- 
tions for  the  wise  government  and 
direction  of  a  church,  at  every  mo- 
ment hable  to  fatal  collisions ;  and 
some  to  interior  details  of  mutual  as- 
sistance and  cooperation,  the  partic- 
ulars of  which  have  for  ever  escaped 
us."  —  According  to  the  grace  that  is 
given  to  us.  The  Christian  Church 
was  not  one  dull  and  uninteresting 
body  of  persons  exactly  alike,  but  it 
presented  all  varieties  of  life,  all  the 
diversity  of  members  of  the  human 
constitution.  There  was  the  eye  of 
the  seer  and  prophet,  the  tongue  of 


1 


192 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


LChap. 


that  is  given  to  us,  whether  prophecy,  let  us  prophesy  according  to 
the  proportion  of  faith ;  or  ministry,  let  us  wait  on  our  ministering ;  7 
or  he  that  teacheth,  on  teacliing ;  or  he  that  exhorteth,  on  exhor-  8 
tation  :  he  that  giveth,  let  him  do  it  with  simphcity ;  he  that  ruleth, 
with  clihgence ;  he  that  showeth  mercy  with  cheerfuhiess.     Let  9 


the  teacher,  the  heart  of  the  exhort- 
er  and  comforter,  and  the  hand  and 
foot  of  the  ministering  servants.  No 
organ  was  supei-fluous,  none  was  able 
to  monopoHze  all  uses  and  honors, 
and  discard  the  others  as  unworthy. 
There  were  different  degrees  of 
special  aid  and  inspiration,  and  dif- 
ferent natural  endo^vments.  There 
was  the  grace  given  to  an  apostle, 
and  the  grace  given  to  a  deacon. 
The  exhortation  of  the  text  there- 
fore is,  that  each  one  should  be  faith- 
ful in  his  sphere,  with  self-respect 
and  mutual  deference.  "  Christians 
are  only  to  aim  at  rightly  applying 
the  measure  of  ability  they  have  re- 
ceived ;  to  do  everything  according 
to  its  proportion.  They  are  not  to 
indulge  conceit,  or  to  pass  beyond 
the  Hmits  of  their  own  stand-point." 
—  Whether  prophecy.  This  does  not 
necessarily  mean  the  capacity  of  pre- 
iicting  future  events,  but  the  procla- 
mation of  religious  truths  with  a  vivid 
sense  of  spiritual  power  and  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  reahty  of  the  mes- 
sage of  the  spirit.  This  function 
ranked  next  to  the  apostolic  office. 
— Proportion  of  faith  ^  or  the  measure 
of  spiritual  power  and  inspiration. 
—  Ministry.  This  pertained  to  the 
administration  of  the  external  affairs 
of  the  Church,  as  attendance  upon 
the  sick,  and  the  distribution  of  alms 
to  the  poor.  —  Teaching.  This  was 
the  instructional  and  catechetical 
duty,  to  educate  the  young,  enlighten 
the  ignorant,  and  communicate  the 
truth  already  made  known  by  the 
apostle  and  prophet.  —  Exhortation. 
This  word  in  Greek  has  the  twofold 
sense  of  admonition,  and  of  consola- 
tion.    These  several  offices  of  minis- 


try, teaching,  exhortation,  &c.,  might 
be  held  and  discharged  by  the  same 
person. — Giveth  —  tvith  simplicity.,  i.  e. 
without  the  alloy  of  improper  motives. 
He  now  enters  upon  the  specification 
of  duties  common  to  Christian  believ- 
ers in  general,  or  such  as  fell  within 
the  scope  of  considerable  numbers. 
—  liuleth,  ivith  diligence.  This  is  a 
caution  against  the  proverbial  evil  of 
"  the  law's  delay."  —  Mercy.,  icith 
cheerfulness.  He  that  forgiveth  an 
injury  should  not  do  it  in  so  cold 
and  reluctant  a  manner  as  to  take 
away  half  the  grace  and  welcome  of 
the  deed.  In  reference  to  passages 
like  the  text,  Neander,  the  greatest 
of  modern  ecclesiastical  historians, 
says;  "  The  view  we  are  led  to  foi-m 
of  the  original  constitution  of  the 
churches  among  Gentile  Christians, 
as  they  existed  in  the  apostohc  age, 
that  it  teas  entirely  democratic,  is 
also  one  of  the  distinguishing  marks 
between  the  churches  of  Gentile  and 
those  of  Jewish  origin.  The  case 
appears  to  be  thus:  All  the  affairs 
of  the  churches  were  still  transacted 
in  an  entirely  public  manner,  so  that 
every  deliberate  meeting  of  the 
church  resembled  a  strictly  popular 
assembly.  But  it  happened,  of  course, 
that  although  no  definite  offices  were 
instituted,  to  which  certain  employ- 
ments were  exclusively  attached,  yet 
each  one  occupied  himself  with  those 
matters  for  which  he  possessed  a 
pecuhar  charism  (gift) ;  those  who 
had  the  gift  of  teaching  generally 
attended  to  teaching,  those  who  pos- 
sessed the  gift  of  church  govern- 
ment occupied  themselves  with  the 
duties  pertaining  to  it.  Thus  in 
every  meeting  of  the  church  there 


XII.] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


19: 


love  be  without  dissimulation.     Ablior  that  which  is  evil ;  cleave 

10  to  that  which  is  good.     Be  kindly  affectioned  one  to  another  with 

11  brotherly  love;-  in  honor  preferring  one  another;  not  slothful  in 

12  business ;  fervent  in  spirit ;  serving  the  Lord ;  rejoicing  in  hope ; 


was  a  division  among  its  members  of 
the  various  business,  in  proportion  to 
the  pecuHar  charisms  of  individuals, 
yet  without  the  institution  of  any 
definite  church  offices." 

9.  As  the  root  and  trunk  of  all  the 
Christian  functions,  he  insists  upon 
love,  free  from  guile  or  pretence. — 
Evil  and  good  are  here  probably  used, 
not  to  describe  the  quaUties  usually 
attached  to  them  as  abstract  terms, 
but  rather  to  describe  dispositions  of 
the  heart,  either  malicious  or  benevo- 
lent. The  words  ahlior  and  cleave 
imply  the  greatest  intensity  of  pur- 
pose. Our  avoidance  of  malevolent 
feehngs,  and  our  adherence  to  kindly 
ones,  are  to  be  no  tame  and  cold 
acts  of  the  spiritual  nature,  but  zeal- 
ous and  whole-souled.  One  of  the 
Fathers  said,  "  Wait  not  till  thou  art 
loved  by  another,  but  make  advances 
and  begin ;  for  thus  shalt  thou  reap 
the  reward  of  his  friendship." 

10.  To  illustrate  and  impress  still 
further  this  beautiful  sentiment  of 
Christian  love,  he  likens  it  to  the 
family  instinct  of  fraternal  affection. 
We  are  to  love  our  fellow-men  as  if 
they  were  our  own  mother's  sons ; 
for  are  they  not  the  sons  of  our  com- 
mon Father  in  heaven?  And  this 
love  is  to  be  manifested  in  one  of  the 
most  difficult  of  all  positions,  in  yield- 
ing our  own  advantage  or  honor  for 
the  sake  of  another.  How  different  is 
the  eager  and  grasping  temper  of  the 
world  from  the  conciliating,  friend- 
ly spirit  of  the  Gospel !  Iron  is  not 
more  unlike  gold  than  is  the  rule  of 
society  compared  with  the  rule  of 
Christ.  "  Nothing,"  says  Chrysostom, 
"  tends  so  much  to  make  friends,  as 
endeavoring  to  overcome  one's  neigh- 
bor in  doing  him  honor." 

17 


11.  Some  limit  this  verse  to  a  quali- 
fication of  the  nature  of  love  in  the 
preceding  one ;  as  that  there  are 
many  who  have  good  affections 
enough,  but  who  take  no  pains  to  act 
them  out  in  the  relations  and  trials 
of  human  life.  But  the  movement 
of  the  whole  passage  indicates  rather 
an  indeijendent  exhortation  to  dih- 
gence,  zeal,  and  service  to  God. 
—  Business.  Not  business  in  the 
usual  sense  of  that  word,  but,  as  De 
Wette  interprets,  zeal  for  all  good  in 
the  kingdom  of  God.  The  word  is 
translated  diligence  in  ver.  8.  Ecc. 
ix.  10.  This  clause  and  the  next 
describe  the  negative  and  positive 
sides  of  the  same  duty,  and  the  third 
clinches  both  with  a  higher  consecra- 
tion. —  Serving  the  Lord.  Griesbach 
and  some  other  critics  make  a  differ- 
ent reading,  "  serving  the  opportu- 
nity ; "  but  the  text  as  it  is,  is  to  be 
preferred.  The  duty  of  carrying  our 
religion  into  our  daily  life  cannot  be 
insisted  on  with  too  strong  an  em- 
phasis. If  the  lamp  of  Revelation 
has  been  lighted  in  heaven,  it  is  that 
it  may  guide  our  footsteps  in  this 
dark  earth.  If  a  coal  is  taken  from 
the  eternal  fire  of  God's  altar,  it  is  to 
kindle  a  flame  on  our  hearth-stone, 
and  make  our  home  warm  and  cheer- 
ful. Where  do  we  more  need  both 
the  restraining  and  the  Impulsive, 
the  consolatory  and  the  admonishing 
principles  of  the  Gospel,  than  In  the 
thickest  of  life's  cares  and  duties  and 
engagements,  from  day  to  day,  and 
from  hour  to  hour !  ^Vliat  other 
shield  can  so  defend,  or  what  other 
balm  can  so  comfort  and  sustain ! 

12.  Hope  comes  after  faith,  and 
love,  and  amid  the  trials  of  life  widens 
the  prospects  of  earth  to  the  great 


194 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


patient  in  tribulation;  continuing  instant  in  prayer;  distributing  to  13 
the  necessity  of  saints ;  given  to  hospitality.  Bless  them  which  per-  u 
secute  you :  bless,  and  curse  not.     Eejoice  with  them  that  do  re-  is 


horizon  of  heaven.  Joy  is  the  proper 
counterpart  to  hope,  and  patience  to 
tribulation,  and  perseverance  to  pray- 
er. This  is  a  description  of  the  true 
method  of  meeting  and  overcoming 
trial  and  sorrow,  and  the  different 
parts  of  the  process  are  consistent 
and  cooperative  with  one  another. 
Because  he  is  patient  under  his  afflic- 
tions, the  true  disciple  no  less  ear- 
nestly prays  to  be  delivered  from 
them,  and  looks  forward  with  exulta- 
tion to  the  day  of  final  freedom  from 
every  clog  and  chain  of  earth.  The 
most  perfect  character  is  thus  a  bal- 
ance between  difierent  forces,  a 
mediation  between  widely  sundered 
powers  and  influences. 

13.  The  virtues  here  recommend- 
ed were  especially  necessary,  in  that 
age  of  the  world,  and  under  the 
peculiarly  scattered  and  endangered 
condition  of  the  Httle  band  of  behev- 
ers,  amidst  their  numerous  enemies, 
both  Jews  and  Gentiles.  Though 
hospitality  was  a  cherished  duty  of 
the  ancient  nations,  and  found  fre- 
quent and  eloquent  eulogies  in  the 
classic  hterature,  yet,  like  every  other 
native  plant  of  virtue,  it  requires  to 
be  cultured  and  pruned  in  the  garden 
of  the  Lord.  \Vhile  all  that  was 
good  in  the  heathen  code  of  morals 
is  to  be  found  in  the  apostolic  ethics, 
it  is  here  raised  to  new  heights  of  dis- 
interestedness and  sanctified  by  mo- 
tives of  regard  for  the  will  of  God 
and  the  love  of  Christ.  The  Hindoos 
beautifully  say,  as  a  reason  for  show- 
ing hospitality  even  to  their  enemies, 
that  "  the  tree  does  not  withdraw  its 
shade  even  from  the  wood-cutter." 
Most  affecting  motives  to  hospitality 
are  suggested  in  Matt,  xxv,  35  -  40, 
and  Heb.  xiii.  2. 

14.  In  an  age  of  persecution,  when 


the  Christians  went  forth  as  sheep 
among  wolves,  it  was  especially  need- 
ful that  they  should  take  with  them 
the  loftiest  standard  of  forgiveness, 
else  their  hearts  would  become  hard 
and  embittered,  and  the  Gospel  would 
die  out  of  their  souls.  But  this  sub- 
Hme  precept,  so  often  inculcated  by 
Jesus,  so  beautifully  exemplified  by 
him  on  the  cross,  is  of  no  local  or 
transient  application,  but  universal 
and  eternal.  Not  a  day  passes  when 
it  is  not  imperatively  needed  in  every 
position  of  human  life,  that  the  wheels 
of  society  may  revolve  without  Lor- 
rid  discord,  and  that  the  children  of 
God's  infinite  love  may  learn  to  treat 
one  another  as  he  treats  us  all.  There 
can  be  no  more  striking  testimony  to 
the  superhuman  origin  of  the  Chris- 
tian rehgion,  than  its  pure  and  holy 
precepts,  so  counter  to  the  spirit  of 
the  world,  and  so  superior  to  its  most 
admired  systems  of  philosophy  and 
morals.  What  a  change  had  Saul, 
the  arch-persecutor  of  the  Christians, 
undergone,  to  become  Paul  the  Apos- 
tle of  the  meek  and  forgiving  Jesus, 
inculcating  boundless  love  and  un- 
wearied piety  and  mercy  !  Matt.  v. 
7,  44  -  48  ;  Luke  xxiii.  34  ;  Acts  vii. 
60. 

15.  Chrysostom  remarks  that  it  is 
harder  to  rejoice  sincerely  with  the 
joyful,  than  to  weep  with  the  sorrow- 
ing; and  Rochefoucault  makes  the 
startling  remark,  that  in  the  misfor- 
tunes of  our  best  friends  there  is 
something  which  is  not  altogether 
displeasing  to  us.  Of  coui^e  it  could 
only  be  an  ill-regulated  nature  that 
took  dehght  in  any  one's  troubles, 
especially  in  those  of  the  near  and 
dear ;  but  there  are  many  ill-regulated 
and  undisciphned  minds  and  hearts 
even  in  the  purest  Christian  commu- 


XIL] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


195 


16  joice,  and  weep  with  tliem  that  weep.     Be  of  the  same  mind  one 
toward  another.     Mind  not  liigh  things,  but  condescend  to  men  of 

17  low  estate.     Be  not  wise  in  your  own  conceits.     Recompense  to 
no  man  evil  for  evil.     Provide  things  honest  in  the  sight  of  aU 

18  men.     If  it  be  possible,  as  much  as  Ueth  in  you,  live  peaceably  with 

19  all  men.     Dearly  beloved,  avenge  not  yourselves,  but  rather  give 


nity.  One  of  the  most  important 
branches,  therefore,  to  the  general 
sentiment  of  love,  is  here  sketched, 
—  a  sincere  and  cordial  sympathy 
with  our  fellow-men  in  both  their 
joys  and  their  sorrows.  This  is  one 
of  the  last  and  most  refined  manifes- 
tations of  the  genuine  Christian  char- 
acter and  life,  and  it  makes  the  dark 
and  howling  wilderness  of  barbarous 
human  nature,  of  untamed  and  un- 
controllable passions,  bud  and  blos- 
som as  the  rose. 

16.  A  continuation  of  the  same 
duties  of  sympathy,  condescension, 
and  humility  in  social  matters.  —  Be 
of  the  same  mind ;  that  is,  as  DeWette 
and  Tholuck  expound,  be  like-mind- 
ed ;  united.  Rom.  xv.  5  ;  2  Cor.  xiii. 
11 ;  Phil.  ii.  2.  In  the  sequel,  humil- 
ity is  enjoined,  because  "  the  greatest 
enemy  to  concord  is  pride."  —  Mind 
not  high  things,  but  condescend  to  men 
of  low  estate.  As  the  Catholic  Tes- 
tament runs,  "  not  minding  high 
things,  but  consenting  to  the  humble." 
The  authorities,  however,  are  in  gen- 
eral in  favor  of  understanding  the 
phrase  as  applicable  to  men,  rather 
than  things,  though  the  adjective  in 
the  original  Greek  leaves  it  undeter- 
mined. Luther  paraphrases  it.  Let 
yourselves  down  to  the  wretched, 
nay,  withdraw  not  yourselves  from 
the  poor  and  despised,  who  as  yet 
know  not  the  Gospel. 

17.  To  no  man  evil  for  evil.  It  has 
been  aptly  said,  that  to  render  evil 
for  good  is  devil-like,  evil  for  evil  is 
brute-like,  good  for  good  is  man-like, 
but  to  render  good  for  evil  is  Christ- 
Hke  and  God-like.    We  are  summoned 


by  the  voice  of  revelation,  which 
is  echoed  in  the  depths  of  our  own 
spiritual  being,  to  adopt  the  highest 
style  of  magnanimity  and  mercy,  and 
strive  to  be  perfect  as  our  Father  in 
heaven  is  perfect.  —  Provide  things 
honest,  &c.  These  checks  and  bal- 
ances, put  to  the  manifestations  of 
the  higher  life,  are  fine  instances  of 
the  superior  wisdom  of  Christianity 
AVhIle  this  lofty  tone  of  love,  sym- 
pathy, superiority  to  revenge,  and 
heavenly-mindedness,  is  to  be  jealous- 
ly preserved,  the  good  opinion  of  the 
world  is  by  no  means  to  be  scorned. 
For  honest  read  beautiful,  honorable , 
so  we  obtain  a  more  exact  and  im- 
pressive exhortation. 

18.  If  it  be  possible,  &c.  Here  is 
the  same  worldly  wisdom  mingled 
with  heavenly  truth.  Peace,  peace 
with  all  men,  is  to  be  pursued,  but 
then  we  are  to  remember  the  hin- 
drances and  not  to  expect  impossi- 
bilities. We  are  to  do  all  in  our  own 
power,  and,  so  far  as  we  can  control 
external  causes,  to  live  a  peaceable 
life ;  but  in  spite  of  our  best  endeavors 
our  good  intentions  may  be  defeated. 
Fire  and  water  cannot  meet  in  har- 
mony, and  good  and  evil  must  clash ; 
but  it  is  the  part  of  the  disciple  of 
Jesus  to  sacrifice  everything  but  prin- 
ciple on  the  altar  of  peace. 

19.  The  duties  of  forgiveness  are 
so  peremptory,  and  so  difficult,  that 
this  master  of  morals  adds  line  upon 
line  and  precept  upon  precept  to  en- 
force them.  —  Avenge.  Revenge.  — 
Give  place  unto  ivrath :  i.  e.  do  not 
come  between  God  and  the  sinner, 
but  make  room  for  tlie  suitable  pun- 


196 


THE  EPISTLE   OE  PAUL 


[Chap. 


place  imto  wrath  ;  for  it  is  written,  Yengeance  is  mine  ;  I  will  re- 
pay, saith  the  Lord.     Therefore,  if  thme  enemy  hunger,  feed  him  ;  20 
if  he  thu'st,  give  him  drink :  for  in  so  doing  thou  shalt  heap  coals 
of  fire  on  his  head.     Be  not  overcome  of  evil,  but  overcome  evil  21 
with  good. 


ishment  which  he  will  inflict  upon 
the  wicked,  and  which  will  be  much 
better  adapted  to  his  case  than  any 
penalties  of  yours.  "  Do  not  antici- 
pate the  ways  of  God,  allow  time  and 
space  to  his  righteous  retributions." 

—  It  is  icritten.  Deut.  xxxii.  35.  A 
free  cpiotation.  Even  the  elder  cov- 
enant thus  raised  the  standard  of  a 
high  reference  to  God  in  all  injuries, 
rather  than  to  indulge  in  petty  per- 
sonal revenge  in  the  treatment  of  our 
enemies. 

20,  21.  The  first  verse  is  the  de- 
scription of  the  method  of  the  duty, 
and  the  second  the  generahzation  of 
the  principle.  "  The  sweet  revenge  " 
of  the  Christian  is  to  do  good  unto 
his  foe  until  he  is  ashamed  of  his  ill- 
conduct  and  turns  and  repents  of  it 
and  asks  forgiveness.  Thus  the  best 
revenge  is  taken  by  not  revenging 
yourselves,  but  by  treating  your  ene- 
my in  the  kindest  possible  manner. 

—  Coals  of  fire  on  Ms  head.  The 
Greek  of  coals  is  the  word  from  which 
anthracite  is  derived.  The  sense  of 
the  illustration  is  a  little  obscure. 
The  intention  is  obvious  to  express 
the  giving  of  pain,  for  in  such  imagery 
the  Orientals  speak  of  that  act." 
"  Coals  of  the  will "  are  equivalent 
to  "  cutting  jests  that  give  pain." 
The  only  question  is  what  sort  of 
pain  is  meant,  the  punishment  of  God, 
made  more  severe  by  your  kindness, 
or  the  sinner's  own  shame.  Tholuck, 
Olshausen,  and  others,  inchne  to  the 
latter  idea,  and  "  consider  the  coals 
of  fire  as  an  image  for  that  torment- 
ing sense  of  shame,  which  in  the  end 
forces  the  adversary  to  supplicate  for- 
giveness, inasmuch  as  no  heart,  how- 


ever hard,  can  permanently  resist  a 
love  so  uniform,  patient,  and  every- 
where forgetting  and  subordinating 
self"  2  Esdras  xvi.  53  :  Pro  v.  xxv. 
21,  22.  —  Be  not  overcome  of  evil,  &c. 
The  only  possible  conquest  we  can 
make  of  evil  is  by  the  suj^erior  instru- 
ment of  good,  of  error  by  truth,  of 
darkness  by  light,  of  hatred  by  love, 
of  sin  by  holiness.  It  is  by  the  power 
of  a  positive  principle  alone  we  can 
overcome  all  weakness  and  evil,  and 
by  the  expulsive  and  exclusive  energy 
of  a  new  and  holier  affection  that  we 
can  drive  away  the  evil  spirits  that 
haunt  us,  and  introduce  the  peace  of 
God,  which  passeth  all  understand- 
ing. Even  heathen  Seneca  had  a 
glimpse  of  this  truth,  when  he  said, 
"  Pertinacious  goodness  concmers  the 
evil." 

This  beautiful  chapter  of  Christian 
piety  and  ethics  is  capable  of  being 
viewed  in  several  distinct  hghts. 

1st.  It  is  in  itself  a  very  strong 
proof  of  the  superhuman  origin,  the 
Divine  authority,  and  the  happy  ten- 
dency of  the  Christian  revelation. 
For  we  can  find  no  passage  in  an 
uninspired  writer,  either  in  ancient 
or  modern  literature,  so  condensed, 
so  qualified,  so  commanding  in  its  air 
of  authority,  yet  so  gentle  and  hu- 
mane in  its  tone  of  love  and  sym- 
pathy, so  comprehensive  in  its  rules 
of  duty,  so  high  and  unyielding  in  its 
standard  of  obhgation,  yet  so  practi- 
cal as  it  respects  the  wants  and  weak- 
nesses of  mankind.  We  can  in  short 
devise  no  reason  why  these  books  of 
the  New  Testament  have 

"  So  got  the  start  of  the  majestic  world, 
And  borne  the  pahn  alone," 


XIII.] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


197 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

Duties  to  the  State,  and  the  Generalization  of  all  Precepts  in  Love. 
Let  every  soul  be  subject  unto  the  higher  powers.    For  there  is  no 


except  that  they  were  written  by 
those  who  acted  under  special  com- 
mission and  authority  from  Him  of 
the  Infinite  Reason  and  the  Infinite 
Love. 

2d.  Here  is  also  an  interpretation  of 
what  Christianity  is ;  here  is  its  por- 
trait taken  by  one  of  the  "  old  mas- 
ters." If  we  wish,  therefore,  to  under- 
stand Paul's  doctrines,  as  developed 
in  the  previous  parts  of  the  Epistle, 
we  must  read  them  in  the  all-illumi- 
nating light  of  Paul's  duties,  which  are 
laid  down  in  this  and  the  succeeding 
chapters.  We  thus  learn  the  consist- 
ency of  his  system,  and  see  that  while 
faith  was  one  of  its  poles,  pointing  to 
God  and  heaven,  good  works  was  the 
other  pole,  pointing  earthwards,  and 
touching  with  its  attraction  all  human 
relations.  Thus  contemplated,  the 
hard  and  obscure  passages  of  -this 
Epistle  melt  away  in  sunlight,  and 
we  see  with  wonder  and  admiration 
from  what  depths  of  the  s](irit  these 
practical  directions  are  drawn,  and 
to  what  heavenly  heights  they  reach 
in  the  kingdom  of  God. 

3d.  As  a  sketch  of  the  moral  fruits 
of  the  Gospel,  a  hand-book  of  daQy 
duty,  this  chapter  is  beyond  all  price. 
If  we  wish  to  know  whether  we  are 
really  Christians  or  not,  here  is  the 
judgment-seat.  If  we  wish  for  in- 
formation wherein  we  are  in  doubt, 
or  impulse  wherein  we  are  weak, 
here  is  knowledge,  and  here  is  in- 
spiration. K  we  desire  to  know  what 
would  be  the  state  of  human  society 
under  the  full  stress  of  Christian  in- 
fluences, we  have  but  to  imagine  all 
the  virtues  and  graces  here  laid  down, 
in  full  play  and  harmonious  concert, 
to  understand  the  blessedness  of  that 
church  and  kingdom  which  Jesus 
17* 


came  to  found  on  earth,  and  the  per- 
fection of  that  spiritual  and  social 
being  which  has  been  put  witliin 
human  reach  even  here  below.  With 
faith,  love,  and  hope  taking  the  lead, 
and  producing  all  their  luxuriant 
and  beautiful  branches,  blossoms,  and 
fruits,  we  have  before  us  the  veritable 
and  majestic  tree  of  life,  "  which  bore 
twelve  manner  of  fruits,  and  yielded 
her  fruit  every  month ;  and  the  leaves 
of  the  tree  were  for  the  healing  of 
the  nations." 


CHAPTER  XIH. 

The  relations  of  Christianity  to 
civil  society  and  the  institutions  of 
the  state  have  been  much  misunder- 
stood. For  while,  on  one  hand,  pas- 
sages like  the  one  before  us  are  cited 
as  proofs  that  the  Gospel  has  nothing 
whatsoever  to  do  with  politics,  unless 
it  be  to  enjoin  passive  obedience  to 
the  existing  powers,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  is  declared  to  be  identical 
with  republicanism.  It  is  difficult  for 
the  world,  from  its  low  stand-point,  to 
comprehend  so  exalted  a  system,  and 
not  fall  into  the  most  contradictory 
theories  respecting  its  connection 
with  the  present  state  of  things,  on 
one  side,  and  with  the  infinite  possi- 
bilities of  progress  on  the  other.  But 
there  are  some  considerations  which 
may  serve,  at  least,  to  show  that  the 
Apostle  and  his  compeers  did  not  love 
their  country  less  because  they  loved 
Christianity  more,  and  that  they  in- 
culcated no  slavish  subserviency  to 
tyrants,  however  they  might  counsel 
peace,  contentment,  and  acquiescence 
in  unavoidable  evils.  The  Gospel  is 
a  radical  cure  for  every  poUtical  and 
social,  as  well  as  every  moral,  abuse 


198  ^  THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL  [Chap. 

power  but  of  God:    the  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God. 


and  sin.  It  puts  the  axe  of  reforma- 
tion at  the  root  of  the  tree,  and  cuts 
up  every  plant  and  shoot  of  evU 
growth.  But  its  method  of  attack 
leads  to  its  misconception  as  an  in- 
strument of  social  and  civil  regenera- 
tion. Because  it  does  not,  in  so  many 
words,  denounce  war,  slavery,  despo- 
tism, intemperance,  gambhng,  and 
kindi-ed  evils,  it  is  hastily  inferred  by 
some  moralists  that  Christianity  has 
no  specific  and  deadly  hostility  to 
them,  and  does  not  work  with  direct 
agency  for  their  overthrow.  These 
critics  overlook  the  fact,  that  the 
Gospel  goes  to  the  fountain-head  in 
the  human  heart,  whence  are  all  the 
issues  of  life,  and  aims,  by  purify- 
ing that,  to  cleanse  all  its  streams. 
Whereas,  if  the  method  of  reforma- 
tion had  been  by  direct  attack  upon 
specific  evils,  instead  of  lading  down 
a  platform  of  exhaustive  and  univer- 
sally applicable  principles,  the  disap- 
pearance of  one  set  of  social  wrongs 
would  have  been  but  the  signal  to 
the  onset  of  a  new  flock,  feathered 
and  colored  after  the  fashion  of  the 
hour.  No  ;  the  method  of  the  Saviour 
and  his  Apostles  subverts  the  whole 
kingdom  of  evil  itself,  not  so  much  by 
special  prohibitions  as  by  the  creation 
of  an  opposite  and  exclusive  kingdom 
of  God.  It  is  superfluous  to  say.  Do 
not  make  war,  Do  not  keep  slaves, 
after  you  have  said,  Love  your 
neighbor  as  yourself,  and,  Do  unto 
others  whatsoever  you  would  that 
others  should  do  unto  you ;  for  the 
greater  comprehends  the  less.  The 
preoccupation  of  a  new  affection 
gives  assurance  that  a  Christian  will 
not  rob,  steal,  lie,  nor  murder.  But 
if,  instead  of  proceeding  on  this  truly 
philosophical  mode  of  overcoming 
evil  with  good,  the  specification  of 
crimes  and  vices  had  been  in  form, 
and  not  in  their  interior  spirit  and 
root  of  evil,  the  compend  of  morals 


would  have  been  larger  than  the 
Code  of  Justinian,  and  would  soon 
have  become  obsolete.  But  now  the 
spiritual  magazine  is  perpetually 
charged,  and  the  warfare  of  eternal 
principles  against  the  shifting  phe- 
nomena of  depraved  passions  and 
appetites  is  never  remitted.  No  e^  il 
can  escape  with  impunity.  The  Gos- 
pel sickle  sweeps  into  its  ample 
bend  every  stalk  and  straw  of  the 
multitudinous  growth  of  sin.  By  re- 
forming on  the  basis  of  principles,  it 
reforms  permanently  the  immorahties 
and  evil  institutions  and  customs  of 
society,  and  hastens  the  coming  of 
that  great  day  when  the  will  of  God 
shall  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  done 
in  heaven. 

Truly  understood,  then,  this  pas- 
sage gives  no  encouragement  to  the 
theory  of  the  divine  right  of  kings,  to 
the  vindictive  character  of  punish- 
ments inflicted  by  the  magistrates,  or 
to  the  cruel  and  arbitrary  caprices  of 
slavery  and  despotism.  For  one  most 
important  qualification  which  the 
Apostle  interposes  in  his  reasoning 
is,  that  the  powers  are  presumed  to 
be  a  terror  to  evil  works,  not  to  the 
good,  which  characteristic  takes  them 
of  course  out  of  the  category  of  iiTe- 
sponsible  and  tyrannical  domination, 
and  assigns  them  a  place  among 
the  beneficent  and  heaven-sanctioned 
agencies  and  restrictions  of  God's 
moral  government  over  men.  For 
when  Paul  speaks  so  decidedly  of 
the  duty  of  obeying  the  civil  author- 
ities, and  says  the  magistrate  beareth 
not  the  sword  in  vain,  it  has  been 
incredulously  asked,  whether  he  could 
mean  that  the  existing  Roman  em- 
peror, Nero,  was  "  ordained  by  God," 
or  was  "  a  minister  of  God  for  good," 
or  that  those  who  resisted  the  tyrant 
were  to  be  condemned  as  "  resisting 
the  ordinance  of  God,"  or  that  the 
sword,  in  his  case,  was  not  "  borne  in 


Xm.]  TO  THE  KOMANS.  199 

2  Whosoever,  therefore,  resisteth  the  power,  refeisteth  the  ordmance 


vain,"  and  worse  than  vain,  —  "  that 
sword  with  which  Nero  ripped  up  the 
body  of  his  OAvn  mother,  that  sword 
for  whose  blow  Nero  avowed  the 
wish  that  his  country  had  but  one 
neck,  and  under  which,  be  it  ob- 
served, St.  Paul  himself  afterwards 
suffered  martyrdom  for  resisting  the 
ordinances  of  Nero,  not  to  violence, 
but  in  obedience  to  the  service  of 
his  higher  Master,  in  preaching 
the  doctrines  of  salvation  through 
Christ '? "  But,  in  reply  to  these  in- 
terrogations, it  should  be  considered, 
that  Paul  is  supposed  to  have  written 
this  Epistle  to  the  Romans  about  the 
year  58,  and  that  Nero  became  em- 
peror only  four  years  before,  in  54  ; 
that  he  was  then  very  young,  and 
that  he  had  not  as  yet  displayed  to 
their  full  extent  those  cruelties  and 
barbarities  which  have  since  made  his 
name  a  horror  and  a  shame  in  the 
annals  of  the  human  species.  Be- 
sides, Paul  lived  remote  from  Rome, 
and  there  were  no  mails,  telegraphs, 
or  steamers  in  those  days  to  convey 
to  the  distant  provinces  of  the  empire 
the  news  of  the  capital.  The  Apostle, 
too,  was  arguing  upon  general  prin- 
ciples, and  not  upon  the  subjection  due 
to  any  particular  ruler  or  emperor. 
He  wished  to  turn  the  thoughts  of 
the  Christian  body  away  from  tem- 
poral ambition  or  worldly  policy,  and 
teach  them  tliat  their  true  kingdom 
was  not  of  this  world,  and  that  their 
true  course  was  to  show  themselves 
good  subjects  of  the  respective  gov- 
ernments under  which  they  lived. 
It  was  indeed  only  by  this  pacific 
policy  that  the  Christian  faith  could 
win  its  way  in  the  world,  or  be  pre- 
served from  the  intrigues  and  corrup- 
tion of  politics.  The  grand  seat  of  its 
power  was  not  primarily  in  its  direct 
external  moulding  of  the  manners, 
customs,  or  laws  of  society,  but  its 
dominion  was  over  the  heart.     Still, 


there  can  be  no  question  that  its 
ultimate  power  is  to  be  developed  in 
the  entire  regeneration  of  society,  as 
well  as  of  the  individual  soul.  The 
kingdom  within  is  to  give  form  to  the 
kingdom  without,  and  the  kingdom 
without  to  give  energy  and  reality  to 
the  kingdom  within.  The  private 
life  and  character  of  Christians  can 
only  attain  their  purest  manifestation 
on  the  large  scale,  when  the  institu- 
tions of  society  and  all  external  cir- 
cumstances that  bear  upon  them  are 
in  accordance  with  the  standard  of 
Christ ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  all 
attempts  to  reform  things  without 
regenerating  men  will  prove  a  total 
failure.  Action  and  reaction,  reforma- 
tion and  regeneration,  faith  and  good 
works,  piety  and  morality,  civilization 
and  Christianity,  are  mutual  parts 
of  the  same  heaven-ordained  whole. 
What  God  hath  joined  together,  let 
not  man  put  asunder. 

1.  Let  every  soul,  i.  e.  every  per- 
son.—  The  higher  powers.  By  these 
are  meant  the  magistrates,  of  what- 
ever rank,  to  whom  subjection  was 
due  in  the  state.  The  proposition 
Avas  a  general  one,  that  Christians, 
because  they  were  disciples  of  "a 
Heavenly  Master,  were  not  therefore 
released  from  their  aUegiance  to  the 
civil  authority;  indeed,  that  they 
were  most  distinctly  bound  to  be 
good  citizens,  because  the  very  pur- 
port of  the  state  and  of  the  church 
agreed  in  this  respect,  when  their 
respective  functions  were  properly 
discharged,  that  they  both  were  a 
restraint  upon  evil  works  and  an  en- 
couragement to  good  ones.  —  Or- 
dained of  God.  The  same  doctrine 
is  taught  in  Titus  iii.  1  and  1  Pet.  ii. 
13,  14.  The  origin  of  civil  society  is 
in  the  Divine  Providence,  which  has 
determined  the  powers  and  circum- 
stances of  man  and  appointed  the 
sphere  of  the  social  relations  for  most 


200 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


of  God :  and  they  that  resist  shall  receive  to  themselves  damnation. 
For  rulers  are  not  a  terror  to  good  works,  but  to  the  evil.     "Wilt  3 
thou  then  not  be  afraid  of  the  power  ?  do  that  which  is  good,  and 


important  purposes  of  culture  and 
discipline  of  the  immortal  faculties  of 
our  being.  This  broad  and  general 
truth  is  laid  down  by  the  Apostle 
without  necessarily  indorsing  mon- 
archy as  of  divine  right,  or  giving 
any  countenance  to  tyranny  or  slav- 
ery, or  even  making  in  republics  the 
voice  of  the  people  synonymous  with 
the  voice  of  God.  General  state- 
ments of  truth  must,  of  course,  be 
taken  with  reasonable  qualifications. 
For,  both  in  the  case  of  Paul  and  that 
of  Peter,  we  know  that  the  duty  of 
obeying  God  rather  than  men  was 
distinctly  avowed,  and  that  they  both 
finally  sacrificed  their  lives  to  a  mar- 
tyr's glorious  death,  rather  than  obey 
the  iniquitous  decrees  of  the  Roman 
authorities  at  the  expense  of  their 
religion.  The  magistrates  were  the 
higher  powers,  but  there  were  higher 
powers  than  they,  to  whom  they 
yielded  uncompromising  fealty,  even 
truth,  and  Christ,  and  God.  For  all 
the  genuine  authority  of  the  state 
was  derived  from  these  higher  sources, 
and,  unless  exercised  in  harmony  with 
the  moral  government  of  God,  it  was 
to  be  repudiated  as  having  violated 
th^.  single  condition  on  which  it  was 
entitled  to  respect  and  obedience. 
"  The  right  of  revolution,"  therefore, 
as  it  has  been  called,  is  not  taken 
away  by  the  Apostle  in  this  passage, 
when  it  is  properly  limited,  for  he 
was  himself  an  actor  in  the  most  stu- 
pendous revolution  that  was  ever 
enacted ;  one  that  finally  changed 
the  faith  of  the  Roman  empire  from 
Paganism  to  Christianity,  and  one 
that  broujght  the  Apostle  and  his 
fellow-disciples  into  collision  with  the 
civil  government,  and  involved  not  a 
few  of  them  in  martyrdom. 

2.  Damnation.     This  is  usually  as- 


sociated in  men's  minds  with  punish- 
ment hereafter;  but  the  better  ren- 
dering is  always  condemnation,  for 
that  covers  the  whole  ground  of  the 
original  word,  and  leaves  the  question 
of  the  time  and  duration  of  the  pen- 
alty and  discipline  necessary  for  the 
wrong-doer  in  the  same  indefiniteness 
in  which  the  Apostle  places  it.  The 
idea  of  the  verse  is,  that  civil  obedi- 
ence is  a  Christian  duty,  because 
government  is  of  providential  origin 
and  authority,  and  they,  therefore, 
who  prove  refractory  subjects,  will 
expose  themselves  to  condemnation 
and  punishment.  These  words  of 
caution  were  needed  by  the  converts 
from  among  the  Jews,  who  were  in- 
clined to  refuse  to  pay  tribute  to 
Csesar,  and  who  were  but  too  prone 
to  embark  in  rash  and  ruinous  insur- 
rections, such  as  finally  drew  down 
on  them  the  vengeance  of  Rome  and 
overthrew  the  Jewish  temple  and 
city  and  nation  in  irretrievable  de- 
struction. 

3.  The  ground  is  here  stated  on 
which  obedience  to  the  civil  power 
could  be  conscientious  and  reason- 
able. When  the  functions  of  gov- 
ernment were  rightly  discharged,  and 
the  evil  were  restrained  and  punished, 
and  the  good  were  encouraged,  the 
ruler  became  "a  minister  of  God," 
and  was  to  be  obeyed  and  aided  as 
such  in  the  maintenance  of  his  author- 
ity. We  see  here,  therefore,  the  all- 
important  qualification  which  limits 
the  general  proposition  of  the  previ- 
ous verses.  The  rulers  are  officers 
of  God,  and  are  to  be  cheerfully 
obeyed  as  such,  as  long  as  they  fulfil 
their  true  offices  of  promoting  the 
great  moral  purposes  of  the  Divine 
government  itself;  but  when  they 
abandon  that  high  position,  and  lend 


XIII.] 


TO   TIIE  ROMANS. 


201 


4  thou  slialt  have  praise  of  the  same  :  for  he  is  the  minister  of  God 
to  thee  for  good.  But  if  thou  do  that  wliich  is  evil,  be  afraid ;  for 
he  beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain :  for  he  is  the  minister  of  God,  a 

5  revenger  to  execute  wrath  upon  him  that  doeth  eviL  Wherefore 
ye  must  needs  be  subject,  not  only  for  wrath,  but  also  for  con- 

6  science'  sake.     For,  for  this  cause  pay  ye  tribute  also :  for  they  are 


themselves  to  fraud,  to  oppression,  to 
abuse  of  their  fellow-men,  —  when- 
ever they  do  by  their  conduct  virtu- 
ally subvert  the  ends  and  aims  of 
God's  government,  and  become  in- 
struments to  enslave,  corrupt,  harass, 
and  injure  mankind,  —  their  author- 
ity is  at  an  end,  and  they  can  sus- 
tain no  claim  for  the  respect  and 
obedience  of  mankind.  In  truth,  in 
such  cases  "  resistance  to  tyrants  is 
obedience  to  God,"  for  Hberty  is  not 
only  a  right  and  privilege,  but  a  duty, 
since  only  in  a  state  of  liberty  can  a 
human  being  attain  his  true  growth 
and  development,  and  become  the 
perfect  being  which  his  Creator  jDlan- 
ned,  and  which  the  whole  system  of 
human  life  is  constructed  to  produce. 
4,  5.  Factious  disturbers  of  the 
peace  would  find  that  not  only  the 
right,  but  that  might,  was  on  the  side 
of  the  civil  authority,  and  that,  if 
they  did  acts  of  injustice,  or  raised 
insurrections  against  the  peace  and 
order  of  society,  they  would  not 
escape  condign  punislmient.  —  Bear- 
eth not  the  sword  in  vain.  The  sword 
is  here  introduced  as  the  emblem  of 
authority,  as  the  axe  and  the  dagger 
were  employed  at  different  jDcriods 
of  the  Roman  republic  and  empire 
to  symbolize  the  same  thing.  We 
see,  therefore,  that  the  passage  is 
strained  beyond  its  obvious  and  natu- 
ral import,  when  it  is  made  to  teach 
necessarily  the  doctrine  of  capital 
punishment.  The  kind  and  amount 
of  infliction  for  any  particular  crime 
is  not  defined,  because  that  question 
did  not  fall  within  the  province  of  the 
Apostle,  he  being  a  morahst,  not  a 


legislator ;  but  he  simply  declares  the 
universal  proposition  that  the  evil- 
doer was  to  stand  in  awe  of  the  civil 
magistrate,  for  he  might  be  sure  that 
he  would  find  his  emblem  of  authority . 
was  not  in  vain.  —  A  revenger  to  exe- 
cute lorith,  &c.  We  should  be  going 
out  of  the  record,  if  we  inferred  that 
it  was  proper  for  human  governments 
to  indulge  the  spirit  of  retaliation,  or 
that  the  term  "  wrath  "  was  to  be  ap- 
phed  in  any  other  than  a  strongly 
figurative  sense  to  the  dealings  of 
God  with  his  cliildren.  These  ex- 
pressions are  a  part  of  the  necessary 
anthropomorphism,  or  human  charac- 
ter, attached  to  description  of  what  is 
so  far  above  us,  and  beyond  our  reach, 
as  the  divine  government.  —  Con- 
science' sake ;  i.  e.  obedience  was  to  be 
rendered,  not  only  from  the  dread  of 
punishment,  but  from  conscientious 
motives  of  right,  regarding  the  civU 
rulers  as  standing  in  a  certain  sense 
in  the  place  of  providence  itself  to 
the  mass  of  mankind  under  their  do- 
minion. 

6.  Pay  ye  tribute  also.  The  ques- 
tion was  much  agitated  among  the 
Jews  whether  it  was  right  to  pay 
tribute  to  their  heathen  masters ;  but 
it  was  decided  in  the  affirmative  by 
our  Lord,  Matt.  xvii.  24-27,  xxii. 
17-21,  and  by  Paul  in  the  present 
passage,  who  assigns  as  the  reason  for 
it,  that  the  officers  are  ministers  of 
God,  who  are  devoted  to  the  mainte- 
nance of  justice  and  order  between 
man  and  man,  and  therefore  entitled 
to  support.  DeWette,  Olshausen, 
and  Tholuck  agree  in  making  this 
very  thing  stand  for  the  general  sub- 


202 


THE   EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


God's  ministers,  attending  continually  upon  this  very  thing.     Ren-  7 
der  therefore  to  all  their  dues  :  tribute  to  whom  tribute  is  due  ;  cus- 
tom to  whom  custom ;  fear  to  w^iom  fear ;  honor  to  whom  honor. 
Owe  no  man  anything,  but  to  love  one  another  :  for  he  that  loveth  8 
another  hath  fulfilled  the  law.     For  this,  Thou  shalt  not  commit  9 
adultery,  Thou  shalt  not  kill,  Thou  shalt  not  steal,  Thou  shalt  not 


ject  of  the  passage,  viz.  the  service 
of  God  in  upholding  law  and  order, 
and  not  the  special  matter  of  the  col- 
lection of  the  tribute,  spoken  of  in 
this  verse.  The  payment  of  taxes  to 
heathen  magistrates  was  justifiable, 
because  the  money  was  devoted  to 
the  preservation  of  civil  society,  to 
the  support  of  law,  and  the  restraint 
of  crime  and  sin. 

7.  To  all  their  dues.  The  topic  of 
tribute  started  in  the  fruitful  mind  of 
Paul  the  general  question,  what  are 
our  dues  to  our  fellow-men,  and  re- 
minded him  how  much  we  owe  to 
one  another,  and  especially  that  great 
debt  of  love,  which  we  never  can 
entirely  pay,  and  which  indeed  we 
are  happier  in  never  entirely  dis- 
charging. The  precept  was  to  ren- 
der toCffisar  the  things  that  are 
Caesar's,  and  to  God  the  things  that 
are  God's.  —  Tribute  was  the  general 
tax,  and  custom  a  special  duty  upon 
some  articles.  —  Fear  and  honor  were 
especially  due  to  magistrates,  and 
love  to  all  mankind  in  general. 

8.  Owe  no  man  anything,  &c.  Pe- 
cuniary debts  are  a  great  snare  to 
tlie  character,  and  have  proved  the 
destruction  of  many  noble  virtues. 
Every  man  should  strive,  as  St.  Paul 
suggests,  to  keep  clear  of  them,  or 
if  he  becomes  entangled  in  them,  to 
free  liimself  from  their  depressing 
and  hazardous  embarrassment  by  all 
means  as  soon  as  possible.  He  whose 
delicate  sense  of  honor  and  con- 
science feels  a  stain  as  a  wound,  will 
strive  to  be  faithful  and  punctual  in 
discharging  all  his  social  and  legal 
obligations,  and  not  only  in  fulfilling 


the  law  of  the  land,  but  the  law  of 
love,  and  doing  as  he  would  be  done 
by.  Olshausen  truly  remarks,  that 
"  love  has  the  wonderful  quality,  that, 
the  more  it  is  practised,  the  more 
amply  it  unfolds  itself  and  rises  in  its 

claims While  therefore  in  other 

circumstances  a  man  stands  better  in 
proportion  as  he  owes  less,  love  is  in 
the  best  condition  the  more  that  it 
feels  itself  in  debt Hence  is  in- 
exhaustible as  God  himself,  and  is  the 
absolute  fulfilment  of  the  law.  In 
man,  however,  love  is  growing,  and 
consequently  is  only  the  fulfilment  of 
the  law  in  process  of  approximation." 
James  ii.  8.  The  debts  of  love  are 
always  paying,  and  always  growing, 
for  the  more  we  pay,  the  more  we 
have  to  pay,  and  the  more  we  ought 
to  pay.  The  capacity  grows  by  what 
it  feeds  on,  and  both  in  the  number 
of  objects  on  which  we  bestow  our 
affections,  and  the  intensity  of  our 
love,  the  more  guests  the  heart  en- 
tertains the  more  room  it  has,  and 
the  purer  and  stronger  is  its  affection 
for  each  one. 

"  Charity,  serene,  sublime. 
Beyond  the  reach  of  death  and  time. 
Like  the  blue  sky's  all-bounding  space. 
Holds  heaven  and  earth  in  its  embrace." 

9.  For  this,  Tliou  shalt  not  commit, 
&c.  Matt.  xxii.  34-40  ;  1  John  iv. 
21.  The  generalization  of  all  the 
negative  commands.  Thou  shalt  not 
do  this,  or  that,  into  the  one  positive 
law  of  love,  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself,  indicates  the  su- 
perior tone  of  the  Gospel  over  every 
other  code  of  morals.  For  it  aims, 
not  only  to  prevent  the  evil,  but  to 


XIII.] 


TO   THE  KOMANS. 


203 


bear  false  witness,  Thou  shalt  not  covet ;  and  if  there  he  any  other 
commandment,  it  is  briefly  comprehended  in  this  saying,  namely, 

10  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.     Love  worketh  no  ill  to 

1 1  his  neighbor  :  therefore  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law.     And  that, 


do  the  good,  and  to  use  in  fact  the 
good  as  the  antidote  to  the  evil.  For 
he  who  has  a  germ  of  love  implanted 
In  his  heart  will  soon  outgrow  those 
lower  states  of  character  in  which  he 
would  be  induced  to  kill,  or  steal,  or 
do. any  other  moral  enormity.  The 
sunlight  of  Christian  love  sends  all 
the  foul  harpies  of  passion  and  every 
bird  of  ill  omen  into  their  own  native 
night.  —  Thou  shalt  not  hear  false 
ivitness,  is  conceded  by  the  best 
critics  to  have  no  title  to  be  consid- 
ered genuine  in  the  text,  for  the 
authorities  are  against  it. 

10.  1  Cor.  xiii.  1-13  ;  Gal.  v.  14. 
The  reason  of  the  generahzation  of 
the  previous  verse  is  here  given ; 
namely,  that  as  love  can  do  no  ill  to 
any  one,  therefore  it  is  superfluous  to 
exhort  him  who  loves  his  neighbor 
not  to  steal,  or  covet,  or  kiU,  for  his 
very  state  of  feeling  not  only  pre- 
cludes those,  but  every  species  of 
social  wrong,  so  that  when  we  lay 
down  love  as  the  basis,  we  predicate 
the  fulfilment  of  every  iota  of  the 
moral  law.  Hunt's  parable  of  Abou 
Ben  Adhem  and  the  Angel  cannot  be 
repeated  too  often,  so  let  it  be  read 
here.  * 


"  Abou  Ben  Adhem  (may  his  tribe  increase  I) 
Awoke  one  night  from  a  deep  dream  of  peace, 
And  saw,  within  the  moonhght  in  liis  room, 
Making  it  rich,  and  like  a  Uly  in  bloom, 
An  angel,  writing  in  a  book  of  gold. 
Exceeding  peace  had  made  Ben  Adhem  bold  ; 
And  to  the  presence  in  the  room  he  said, 
'  What  writeet  thou  ? '    The  vision  raised  its 

head. 
And,  with  a  look  made  of  all  sweet  accord, 
Answered,  '  The  names  of  those  that  love  the 

Lord.' 
'  And  is  mine  one  ?  '  said  Abou.    '  Nay,  not  so,' 
Replied  the  angel.    Abou  spoke  more  low, 
But  cheerly  still ;  and  said,  '  I  pray  thee  then, 
AV'rite  me  as  one  that  loves  his  fellow-men.' 
The  angel  wrote  and  vanished.     The  next  night 
It  came  again,  with  a  great  wakening  hght, 


And  showed  the  names  whom  love  of  God  had 

blessed, 
And  lo !  Ben  Adhem's  name  led  all  the  rest." 

11.  And  that.  That  is,  aU  this  is 
to  be  done,  love  is  to  be  observed,  the 
law  is  thus  to  be  fulfilled  by  the  dis- 
ciples, mindful  that  the  time  is  short, 
and  the  day  of  retribution  is  at  hand. 
The  time-element  is  brought  in  to 
add  force  to  the  exhortation.  Many 
critics  are  disposed  to  regard  Paul 
and  the  other  Apostles  as  believers 
in  the  speedy  second-coming  of 
Christ  on  earth,  and  as  therefore  urg- 
ing upon  their  converts  an  immedi- 
ate attention  to  the  subject  of  relig- 
ious duty  in  view  of  the  swift  advance 
of  the  great  day  of  the  Lord.  There 
is  considerable  phraseology  in  the 
New  Testament,  which  may  seem, 
when  literally  construed,  to  favor  this 
theory  of  apostolic  fallibility,  and  the 
following  passages  have  been  referred 
to  in  illustration  :  Phil.  iv.  5 ;  1 
Thess.  V.  2,  6;  Heb.  x.  25,  37; 
James  v.  7,  9 ;  1  Peter  iv.  7 ;  2 
Peter  iii.  10-12;  Rev.  xxii.  12. 
Tholuck  accounts  for  this  erroneous 
opinion  partly  by  the  general  law  of 
human  nature,  which  leads  man  to 
think  that  the  object  of  his  hope  is  just 
at  hand,  and  partly  on  account  of  the 
language  of  admonition  which  Jesus 
often  used,  that  his  followers  should 
be  prepared  for  the  great  crisis,  and 
which  was  like  the  phraseology  taken 
from  the  old  prophets,  where  they 
were  describing  the  approaching 
blessings  or  judgments  of  God.  IMatt. 
xxiv.  29,  42  ;  xxv.  13  ;  Luke  xxi. 
34-36.  But  there  are  several  strong 
objections  to  the  doctrine,  that  the 
Apostles  were  in  an  error  upon  this 
subject. 

1st.  That  it  almost  necessarily  in- 


204 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


knowing  the   time,   that  now  it  is  high   time   to   awake   out   of 
sleep  :  for  now  is  our  salvation  nearer  than  when  we  believed. 
The  night  is  far  spent,  the  clay  is  at  hand  :  let  us  therefore  cast  off  12 
the  works  of  darkness,  and  let  us  put  on  the  armor  of  light.     Let  13 


volves  Christ  himself  in  the  same  mis- 
take^ for  he  uses  very  similar  language 
to  theirs.  But  we  cannot  suppose 
that  a  wisdom  so  great  as  his  in  other 
things  failed  entirely  in  regard  to  so 
important  a  matter  as  the  duration  of 
his  kingdom  on  earth,  or  that  his  pro- 
phetic vision,  so  sure  in  other  matters, 
was  blinded  in  this  grand  point  of  in- 
terest. 

2d.  The  inteiy relation  of  the  Apos- 
tle's language  is  made  too  literal  on 
this  theory,  and  we  are  found  taking 
the  burning  sentences  of  the  Orient 
and  interpreting  them  by  the  cold 
rules  of  the  Occident,  as  if  every 
figure  of  speech  were  an  accurate 
mathematical  proposition. 

3d.  Paul  himself  in  the  Second 
Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians  specially 
discards  the  notion  of  the  second 
advent  as  near  at  hand,  and  bids  his 
converts  not  be  alarmed  at  any  repre- 
sentations which  he  had  made,  and 
which  it  appears  they  had  misunder- 
stood ;  2  Thess.  ii.  2,  3  ;  as  men  now 
misunderstand  the  same  language  and 
construe  it  as  a  prediction  of  Christ's 
second  coming  on  earth. 

4th.  The  use  of  the  language  in 
question  is  compatible  with  the  be- 
lief that  a  great  length  of  time  would 
intervene  before  Christ  came,  for  simi- 
lar phraseology  is  employed  in  Rev. 
xxii.  12;  yet  the  author  had  been 
describing  a  series  of  events  wliich 
would  occur  before  the  coming  of 
Christ,  one  of  which  alone  would  oc- 
cupy one  thousand  years.  Kev.  xx. 
2,  6,  6. 

5th.  In  fact,  all  the  demands  of  the 
languagejcespectmg  the  speedy  second 
coming  of  Christ  are  satisfied,  when 
we  take  into  consideration  the  near- 
ness of  the  approach  of  death  to  each 


man,  and  so,  in  a  sense,  the  coming  of 
Christ  to  him ;  and  again,  the  usual 
prophetic  manner  of  describing  the 
pohtical  and  religious  revolutions  of 
the  world  by  the  war  of  the  natural 
elements,  and  the  overthrow  of  the  es- 
tabUshed  ordinances  of  nature,  in  sun, 
moon,  and  stars,  day  and  night,  and 
the  ongoings  of  the  material  creation. 
For  now  is  our  salvation  nearer 
than  when  we  believed.  This,  and  the 
first  clause  of  the  next  verse.  The 
night  is  far  spent,  the  day  is  at  hand, 
are  put  into  a  parenthesis  by  Gries- 
bach  in  his  critical  edition.  Locke 
paraphrases  it,  that  your  salvation  is 
nearer  than  when  you  first  entered 
into  the  profession  of  Christianity. 

12.  The  general  purport  of  ver. 
11-14  is  sufficiently  manifest ;  —  it 
is  that  they  should  rouse  themselves 
to  duty,  as  men  awaking  out  of  sleep, 
as  soldiers  suddenly  called  to  battle, 
and  hastily  putting  on  theh  armor. 
The  past  ages  of  the  world  were  de- 
scribed under  the  figure  of  night,  and 
the  coming  Christian  ages  under  that 
of  day.  The  inference  was,  therefore, 
that  the  conduct  of  the  Christian 
should  bear  some  resemblance  to  the 
great  change  in  the  circumstances  of 
the  world,  and  the  condition  of  Chris- 
tianity. Children  of  the  light  and 
the  day  were  called  upon  to  be  wide 
awake,  to  be  up  and  doing,  to  repudi- 
ate the  works  of  darkness,  to  put  on 
the  armor  of  the  day,  and  thus  be  pre- 
pared to  fight  the  battle  of  life  as 
good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ.  Eph. 
V.  11-14;  vi.  12;  John  iii.  19-21. 

13,  14.  The  vices  here  described 
were  the  fruits  of  a  dark  and  benight- 
ed condition  of  the  world,  when  but 
httle  light  from  above  shone  on  the 
path   of  human    duty   and   destiny. 


XIII. 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


205 


us  walk  honestly,  as  in  the  day ;  not  in  rioting  and  drunkenness, 
14  not  in  chambering  and  wantonness,  not  in  strife  and  envying :  but 
'  put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  not  provision  for  the 
flesh,  to  fulfil  the  lusts  thereof. 


Sad  to  say,  not  one  sin  in  the  old 
catalogue  has  become  entirely  obso- 
lete during  all  these  mighty  spaces 
of  time,  this  score  of  centuries  of  the 
era  called  after  Christ.  Still,  some 
advancement  has  been  made,  and  the 
Christian  Church  is  purer  than  it 
was  at  Corinth,  with  its  intoxication 
around  the  table  of  the  Lord,  and  its 
licentiousness  among  near  relations. 
But  the  exhortation  is  still  pertinent, 
to  clothe  one's  self  in  the  mantle  of 
Christian-like  excellences,  and  keep 
the  body  under,  with  its  grasping 
desires  and  earth-bound  passions. — 
Honestly.  This  word  is  translated, 
1  Cor.  xiv.  40,  decently,  and  might 
be  properly  rendered  so  here,  for  the 
question  was  rather  as  it  regarded 
decency  of  conduct  than  honesty. 
Olshausen  remarks,  that,  "  in  the  ad- 
monitions which  here  follow,  we  must 
not  think  of  gross  manifestations  of 
fleshliness,  such  as  even  the  Law 
punishes,  so  much  as  of  more  deh- 
cate  spiritual  manifestations  in  evil 
thoughts  and  inclinations,  which  may 
be  quelled  by  a  careful  discipline  of 
the  body."  —  Rioting.  Eather,  ca- 
rousals, revels,  "  after  supper,  the 
guests  often  sallying  into  the  streets 
with  torches,  music,  frolic,  and  songs, 
in  honor  especially  of  Bacchus."  — 
Chambering  and  ivantonness.  These 
were  the  vices  of  Ucentiousness,  as 
the  others  were  of  intoxication.  The 
degradation  of  the  heathen  world  in 


both  these  respects  was  almost  in- 
credible, according  to  their  own  his- 
torians and  poets ;  and  although  our 
modern  civilization  is  bad  enough, 
yet  we  find,  by  comparing  notes,  that 
the  Christian  religion  has  raised  ,the 
standard  of  duty  higher,  and  that 
some  of  the  darkest  features  of  life 
in  Greece  and  Rome  have  been  ame- 
liorated and  purified.  But  an  almost 
infinite  work  yet  remains  to  establish 
peace,  to  emancipate  the  enslaved,  to 
raise  up  the  fallen  drunkard,  to  en- 
lighten the  ignorant  and  the  de- 
graded, and  preach  the  Gospel  to  the 
poor ;  but  for  this  glorious  reforma- 
tion we  have  now  ample  means  and 
motives,  and  need  not  despair  of  a 
steady  growth  of  the  Gospel  in  the 
hearts  and  lives  of  our  race.  —  Make 
no  provision,  &c.  The  life  of  the 
body  is  secured  by  instincts  which 
act  with  certainty  and  constancy ;  but 
the  life  of  the  soul  requires  special 
efforts  and  culture,  for  it  is  not  in- 
stinctive, but  rational,  conscientious, 
and  affectional,  and  requires  the 
hand  of  diligent  cultivation.  The 
spiritual  life  is  not  unnatural,  but 
rather,  if  we  may  say  so,  supernatural, 
or  above  nature,  a  portion  of  divine 
life,  a  vision  of  heavenly  truth,  a 
breath  of  purer  air,  an  inspiration  of 
deeper  love. 

"  Through  thee.  0  Lord,  we  own 
A  new  and  heavenly  birth, 
Kindred  to  spirits  round  thy  throne, 
Though  sojourners  of  earth." 


18 


206 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


CHAPTER   Xiy. 

The  SjJecial  Duties  of  Christians  in  the  Midst  of  Heathen  Communities. 
Him  that  is  weak  in  the  faith  receive  ye,  hut  not  to  doubtful  dis- 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Lsr  pursuing  the  great  subject  of 
the  Christian  hfe,  whose  basis  is  faith, 
and  whose  animating  spirit  is  love, 
the  Apostle  comes  in  this  chapter  to 
the  discussion  of  some  of  the  local 
questions  of  the  Roman  Church,  in 
which  the  law  of  love  and  the  temper 
of  forbearance  and  candor  were  aU 
essential.  The  particular  state  of 
things  in  the  ancient  Church  which 
called  forth  these  sentences  has  passed 
away,  but  their  wisdom  and  beautiful 
spirit  are  imperishable,  and  applicable 
in  every  age  and  in  every  Church. 
The  general  duty  of  love  is  reduced 
down  to  such  distinct  specifications, 
that  he  who  runneth  may  read,  and 
the  humblest  understanding  may  see 
how  the  divine  sentiments  of  the 
Christian  religion  are  to  be  carried 
out  in  every-day  Hfe.  We  are  prone 
to  arrogate  to  modern  Christendom 
a  superior  culture  and  refinement ; 
but  the  relations  of  him,  who  taught 
such  lessons  as  these,  to  them  who 
profited  by  his  instructions,  must  have 
been  cast  in  a  finer  mould  than  usual, 
and  they  can  well  challenge  competi- 
tion with  the  social  sentiments  of  the 
most  highly  civilized  communities  of 
the  present  Christian  world.  Glorious 
Apostle  !  goodly  Church  !  Here  were 
the  germs  taking  root  for  an  infinite 
growth,  for  a  lovely  blooming,  and 
rich  fruitage  of  humanity.  The  tree 
of  life,  banian-like,  was  to  drop  its 
branches  from  these  hving  centres, 
and  take  ever  wider  circles  of  ex- 
pansion until  it  filled  the  earth. 

1.  Him  (hat  is  loeak  in  tJie  faith,  8ic.; 
that  is,  the  person  not  sufficiently 
advanced  in  the  Christian  character 
to  rise  above  weak  and  superstitious 
scruples  in   relation   to  various   ob- 


servances of  food  and  drink,  and  fes- 
tivals and  customs,  A  question  has 
arisen,  whether  the  Apostle  refers  to 
ascetics  who  abstained  from  a  rich 
diet  on  principle,  or  to  those  who 
were  afraid  they  should  pollute  them- 
selves, if  they  indulged  in  meat  and 
wine,  with  what  had  been  offered  as 
sacrifices  and  hbations  to  the  heathen 
gods.  There  were,  no  doubt,  in  the 
early  ages,  those  who  practised  a  vege- 
tarian diet.  The  Essenes  among  the 
Jews,  and  the  new  Pythagorean  school 
among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  advo- 
cated great  abstinence  in  living.  But 
the  more  probable  opinion  is,  that 
reference  is  here  made  to  those  Chris- 
tian converts  from  Judaism  who  liad 
been  accustomed  to  the  distinction 
of  clean  and  unclean  animals,  aiid  all 
the  punctilious  observances  of  the 
Law,  and  who  dreaded  lest  they 
should  contaminate  themselves  if 
they  partook  of  the  ordinary  food 
exposed  in  the  pagan  markets.  This 
view  corresponds  better  with  our  his- 
torical information,  and  it  answers  all 
the  demands  of  the  text.  The  per- 
son "  weak  in  faith,"  therefore,  was 
characterized  by  a  scrupulousness, 
more  nice  than  wise,  arising  from  his 
previous  legal  stand-point  in  morals, 
where  there  was  much  artificial  judg- 
ment as  to  what  was  right  and  Avron:;. 
and  from  his  inability  to  rise  to  the 
higher  platform  of  faith-righteousness, 
in  wliich  what  was  evil  or  what  was 
good  was  determined  by  its  essential 
moral  character.  By  faith  we  may 
here  understand  Christian  convic- 
tions.—  Not  to  doubtful  disputations. 
As  the  margin  reads,  "  Not  to  judge 
his  doubtful  thoughts";  or,  as  Robin- 
son translates.  Not  to  make  one's  self 
the  judge  of  the  doubts  or  scruples  of 
the  convert.     The  sense  is  obvious. 


XIV.] 


TO   THE  EOMANS. 


207 


2  putations.     For/ one  believeth  that  he  may  eat  all  things  :  another, 

3  who  is  weak,  eateth  herbs.  Let  not  liim  that  eateth  despise  him 
that  eateth  not ;  and  let  not  him  which  eateth  not  judge  him  that 

4  ^viteth;  for  God  hath  received  him.  Who  art  thou  that  judgest 
another  man's  servant  ?  to  his  own  master  he  standeth  or  falleth ; 
yea,  he  shall  be  holden  up :  for  God  is  able  to  make  him  stand. 

5  One  man  esteemeth  one  day  above  another :  another  esteemeth 
every  day  alike.     Let  every  man  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own 


Respect  the  conscience  of  a  disciple, 
who  still  adheres  in  many  things  to 
his  earher  faith ;  do  not  reject  him 
from  your  fellowship,  or  trouble  him 
with  disputes.  It  is  therefore  at  once 
a  precept  of  conscience  and  one  of 
charity.    Acts  xx.  35  ;  1  Cor.  viii.  12. 

2.  This  verse  is  adduced  by  one 
class  of  critics  as  evidence  that  as- 
cetics, or  vegetarians,  are  meant  in 
the  text.  But  all  the  necessities  of 
the  passage  are  met  more  naturally 
by  supposing  that  "the  words  applied 
to  the  social  feasts  of  the  Christians, 
at  Avliich  the  Jewish  converts  pre- 
ferred abstaining  altogether  from 
meats  of  flesh,  being  afraid  of  eating 
what  was  unclean."  1  Cor.  viii.  7 ; 
1  Tim.  iv.  3.  There  were  two  classes 
in  the  bosom  of  the  Church ;  one  of 
free-thinking  Gentiles,  who  had  no 
compunction  in  eating  whatever  was 
placed  before  them,  asking  no  ques- 
tions for  conscience'  sake ;  and  the 
other  of  those  who  confined  them- 
selves to  vegetables,  lest  they  might 
unknowingly  "  eat  something  unclean 
and  defiling,  the  flesh  of  idolatrous 
sacrifices."  As  many  animals  were 
offered  in  sacrifice,  much  of  the  meat 
unconsumed  at  the  altar,  or  by  the 
priests,  was  exposed  for  sale  in  the 
common  market,  and  bought  up  by 
the  inhabitants  for  daily  consump- 
tion. —  Herbs.  Vegetables,  garden 
plants. 

3,4.  The  two  parties  were  probably 
Jews  and  Gentiles ;  the  latter  eating, 
and  the  former  not  eating,  animal 


food,  for  the  reasons  given  above. 
The  twofold  precept  was  to  one,  not 
to  despise,  and  to  the  other,  not  to 
condemn,  since,  before  the  absolute 
standard  of  God,  each  was  accepted. 
Col.  ii.  16  ;  James  iv.  12. —  Who  art 
thou  that  Judgefft,  &c.  It  is  an  inva- 
sion of  the  Divine  sovereignty  to 
pronounce  judgment  on  our  fellow- 
men.  He  who  in  these  matters  of 
comparatively  little  consequence  is 
condemned  by  his  followers,  will,  if 
conscientious,  be  sustained  by  God. 
But  the  whole  passage  teaches  the 
duty,  not  only  of  obeying,  but  also 
of  educating  and  enlightening  con- 
science. 

5,  6.  A  new  set  of  questions  is  here 
introduced,  relating  to  the  observance 
of  religious  festivals  and  days. —  One 
man  esteemeth  one  day,  &c.  The  con- 
vert from  Judaism  adheres  to  his  old 
usages  of  keeping  some  days  sacred ; 
for  example,  the  Sabbath,  the  new- 
moon,  fast  and  feast  days  ;  while  the 
Gentile  convert  can  feel  no  special 
respect  for  them  whatever,  because 
he  has  been  diflerently  educated. 
The  genius  of  the  Gospel,  therefore, 
is  liberty,  that  each  one  should  follow 
the  bent  of  his  own  reason  and  con- 
science ;  and  charity,  that  he  should 
allow  to  others  the  same  privilege. — 
Let  every  man,  &c.  A  similar  senti- 
ment to  those  in  ver.  22,  23.  What 
is  done  should  be  done  on  the  strength 
of  personal  conviction ;  and  then  the 
light  that  is  in  one,  the  inner  light, 
that  lights  every  man  that  cometh 


208 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Ci 


mind.     He  tliat  regardeth  the  day  regardeth  it  unto  the  Lord ;  6 
and  he  that  regardeth  not  the  day,  to  the  Lord  he  doth  not  regard 
it.     He  that  eateth,  eateth  to  the  Lord,  for  he  giveth  God  thanks ; 
and  he  that  eateth  not,  to  the  Lord  he  eateth  not,  and  giveth  God 
thanks.    For  none  of  us  Uveth  to  himself,  and  no  man  dieth  to  him-  7 
self.     For  whether  we  live,  we  Hve  unto  the  Lord ;  and  whether  8 
we  die,  we  die  unto  the  Lord 


whether  we  live  therefore,  or  die, 


into  the  world,  will  grow  constantly 
brighter  and  brighter.  "  His  own 
mind,  after  aU,  is  the  ultimate  text  by 
which  everything  is  to  be  tried  by 
man,  even  those  systems  of  truth  and 
authority  that  claim  to  be  infallible." 
He  must  decide  by  this  standard 
whether  revelation  itself  is  entitled 
to  his  confidence  and  obedience. — 
Regardeth.  The  margin  reads  ohserv- 
etli.  Both  act  under  a  sense  of  moral 
obligation,  and  with  reference  to 
God,  one  in  keeping,  and  the  other 
in  not  keeping,  the  day.  1  Cor.  x. 
31.  The  same  was  true  in  regard  to 
eating  or  not  eating ;  for  in  both 
cases  they  gave  thanks  to  God,  and 
the  central  idea  of  his  government, 
and  their  duty  to  him,  kept  all  things 
in  good  order,  and  preserved  the 
moral  perspective  of  life  and  character 
unimpaired. 

7,  8.  For  none  of  us  Uveth  to  him- 
self. We  are  parts  of  a  great  whole, 
and  can  claim  no  isolation  or  absolute 
independence.  This  thought,  too, 
that  we  belong  to  God,  in  life  and^  in 
death,  is  a  transporting  view,  for  it 
raises  us  out  of  the  narroAv  sphere  of 
our  individual  interests,  and  gives  us 
the  citizenship  of  the  universe.  Bel- 
sham  forcibly  remarks :  "  By  the  law 
of  our  profession,  self,  the  great  idol 
of  the  unbelieving  world,  is  totally 
annihilated.  Neither  the  attainment 
of  wealth,  nor  the  gratification  of  the 
passions,  nor  the  preservation  of  lib- 
erty, nor  social  enjoyments,  ncr  the 
love  of  life,  nor  the  fear  of  death,  are 
any  longer  sufi'ered  to  predominate 


in  the  breast,  or  to  maintain  any  un- 
due influence  over  the  mind.  When 
a  man  becomes  a  believer  in  Christ, 
he  learns  to  look  beyond  himself,  and 
to  direct  his  regards  to  worthier  ob- 
jects." 2  Cor.  V.  6,  8  ;  1  Thess.  v.  10. 
The  specific  evil  of  any  sin  is,  that  it 
makes  the  creature  the  centre  of  life  in- 
stead of  the  Creator;  of  ambition,  that 
it  seeks  glory,  seeks  to  be  first,  not  to 
be  useful,  not  to  be  a  true  and  faith- 
ful part  of  the  greater  kingdom  of 
God ;  of  pleasure,  that  it  would  bar- 
ter away  the  greater,  the  universal 
good,  for  transient  gratification ;  of 
avarice,  that  it  hoards  for  itself,  makes 
its  individual  prosperity  superior  to 
all  other  things,  to  justice,  truth, 
benevolence,  the  state's  honor,  the 
Church's  holiness,  and  the  home's 
affections.  Vice,  therefore,  hke  the 
Ptolemaic  system  of  astronomy,  puts 
selfishness  as  the  pivot  of  the  uni- 
verse, and  makes  sun  and  moon  and 
golden  stars  revolve  around  it ;  yea, 
God  himself  to  exist  to  further  its 
aggrandizing  schemes.  But  holiness, 
like  the  Copernican  system  of  the 
worlds,  which  puts  the  sun  at  the 
centre,  and  makes  the  earth,  moon, 
and  planets  with  their  satellites  all 
revolve  around  the  greater  orb  of 
light  and  life,  fixes  God  as  the  point 
of  attraction,  and  the  controller  of  all 
subordinate  worlds  and  beinfjs.  Noth- 
ing can  make  a  human  being  more 
wretched  than  to  give  him  up  to  the 
execution  of  his  own  purposes,  un- 
sanctified  and  unguided  by  refer- 
ence to  the  will  of  God ;  for  he  un- 


XIV. 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


209 


9  we  are  the  Lord's.     For  to  this,  end  Christ  both  died,  and  rose, 
and  revived,  that  he  might  be  Lord  both  of  the  dead  and  hving. 


dertakes  to  manage  the  interests  of  an 
immortal  being  by  the  rush-light  of 
his  own  Httle  undersfemding,  instead 
of  seeking  the  counsel  of  Hun  who 
knoweth  all  things.  On  the  other 
hand,  nothing  can  more  surely  make 
a  soul  happy  here  and  hereafter  than 
to  live  unto  God,  to  keep  nigh  unto 
him  in  the  consciousness  of  the  spirit, 
to  take  hold  of  his  mighty  hand  to 
lead  us  through  the  dark  passages  of 
life,  and  in  all  things  to  follow  his 
plan,  and  not  our  caprice,  and  to 
bend  freely  and  gladly  all  powers, 
possessions,  and  means  to  do  his  holy 
will  in  action,  and  to  bear  his  holy 
will  In  suifering  and  discipline.  Nor 
can  we  doubt  that  He,  who  has  thus 
had  the  entire  creation,  control,  and 
moulding  of  human  nature,  who  has 
assigned  the  places  of  its  abodes  and 
its  education,  who  is  the  Supreme 
Master  of  Ufe  and  death.  In  whom  we 
live  and  move  and  have  our  being, 
and  to  whom  we  go  to  be  judged 
after  death,  will  in  the  infinite  range 
of  his  worlds,  in  the  countless  ages 
of  his  teaching,  and  by  the  manifold 
influences  of  liis  fatherly  love  and 
chastening,  for  every  child  he  has 
made,  find  means  to  draw  every  soul 
created  in  his  own  image  to  himsetf, 
and  purge  away  all  the  blots  of  sin  ; 
for  living  or  dying,  we  are  the  Lord's. 
But  the  glorious  hope  of  that  final 
restoration  when  the  last  prodigal  son 
shall  have  come  back  from  eating  the 
husks  of  his  selfishness  and  his  lust  to 
the  bountiful  provisions  of  his  father's 
house,  is  grievously  abused,  when  it 
is  emplo}'ed  to  relax  the  Immediate 
bond  of  virtue,  or  to  lessen  the  tre- 
mendous guilt  and  horror  of  sin. 
The  dictate  of  wisdom  is.  To-day  if 
ye  will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not 
your  hearts. 

9.  And   rose  and  revived.     Gries- 
18* 


bach  edits  this,  and  lived.  Acts  x. 
42  ;  2  Cor.  v.  15.  Christ  hved  that 
he  might  be  the  Lord  of  the  living, 
and  he  died  that  he  might  be  the 
Lord  of  the  dead ;  in  other  words, 
the  sunple  thought  is,  that  he  tried 
all  human  fortunes,  was  humiliated, 
and  was  exalted,  that  he  might  be  a 
sufficient  Saviour  to  every  human 
being,  that  he  might  reign  both  in 
earth  and  in  heaven.  Tholuck  says : 
"  Since  the  completion  of  the  work  of 
redemption,  Christ  is  the  Lord  of  all 
Avho  are  admitted  into  the  divine 
kinodom,  and  this  not  ^nly  during 
their  pilgrimage  upon  earth,  lout  even 
beyond  the  grave."  May  we  not 
suppose  Indeed,  with  great  probability, 
and  in  harmony  with  various  intima- 
tions of  Scripture,  that  Jesus  still 
leads  on  his  brethren  of  the  spirit- 
land  in  the  way  of  spiritual  life  and 
progress,  and  that  the  work  he  ac- 
complishes for  the  spirits  of  men  in 
the  present  world  is  but  the  com- 
mencement of  a  glorious  education 
in  wisdom,  love,  and  holiness,  a  near- 
er approximation  to  God,  winch  is  to 
be  carried  on  through  the  never-end- 
ing future  ?  The  most  perfect  of 
their  race,  the  Howards,  Fenelons, 
and  Miltons,  but  learn  here  the  a  b  c 
of  that  infinite  lore  which  is  treasured 
up  in  the  councils  of  heaven,  but 
thrill  with  a  few  prehminary  emo- 
tions to  that  immeasurable  lo  re  which 
flows  forth  without  ceasing  from  the 
Heart  of  the  universe.  Heaven  could 
indeed,  we  may  reverently  say,  only 
remain  heaven  to  Christ  and  his  fol- 
lowers, as  it  should  open  a  sphere  for 
the  exercise  and  culture  of  all  those 
graces  and  virtues  which  distinguished 
their  character  Avhile  on  the  earth, 
while  the  more  felt  and  manifested 
])resence  and  glory  of  the  Supreme 
Father  must  dilate  every  spirit  with 


210 


THE  EPISTLE  X)F  PAUL 


[Chap. 


But  why  dost  thou  judge  thy  brother  ?  or  why  dost  thou  set  at  lo 
naught  thy  brother  ?  for  we  shall  all  stand  before  the  judgment- 
seat  of  Christ.     For  it  is  written,  As  I  hve,  saith  the  Lord,  every  ii 
knee  shall  bow  to  me,  and  every  tongue  shall  confess  to  God.     So  12 
then  every  one  of  us  shall  give  account  of  himself  to  God.     Let  13 


new  power  and  Ufe.  Acts  vii.  55,  56, 
59,  60  ;  ix.  4,  5  ;  x.  14 ;  1  Cor.  xi. 
23  ;  Heb.  vii.  25. 

"  The  Saviour  now  is  gone  before 
To  yon  blest  realm  of  light : 
0,  thither  may  our  spirits  soar, 
And  wing  their  upward  flight !  " 

10.  One  party,  probably  the  Jews, 
judged  or  condemned  their  oppo- 
nents ;  and  the  other  party,  the  Gen- 
tiles, set  at  naught,  or  despised,  the 
scrupulous  Jews ;  but  both  transcend- 
ed their  sphere,  for  all  alike  were 
amenable  at  a  higher  bar.  2  Cor. 
Y.  10. —  The  judgment-seat  of  Christ. 
The  Alexandrine,  Clermont,  and 
other  important  manuscripts,  read 
God,  instead  of  Christ,^  and  Tischen- 
dorf  follows  that  reading  in  the  text 
in  his  edition ;  but  Griesbach  speaks 
of  it  as  "  worthy  of  regard,  and  de- 
serving further  examination,  but  yet 
inferior  to  the  received  reading."  It 
is  remarkable  that  several  of  the 
strongest  proof-texts  of  the  Trinity 
labor  under  critical  doubts  of  their 
genuineness;  for  example,  the  one 
in  question  ;  Acts  xx.  28  ;  1  Tim.  iii. 
16  ;  and  1  John  v.  7.  We  cannot  sup- 
pose for  a  moment  that  a  direct  fraud 
was  perpetrated  upon  the  Scriptures 
to  furnish  weapons  for  the  Atliana- 
sian  side  of  the  Trinitarian  contro- 
versy, for  such  an  attempt  would 
have  been  detected  and  exposed  as 
soon  as  it  was  made;  but  we  can 
easily  conceive  that  notes  favoring 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  might  be 
introduced  first  into  the  margin,  then 
placed  in  the  substance  of  the  page 
in  a  smaller  hand,  and  finally  copied 
in  the  text  as  of  equal  authority  with 
it.  In  fact,  how  can  we  otherwise  ac- 
count for  the  very  singular  fact  men- 


tioned above?  But  in  the  present 
instance,  if  the  word  Christ  retain  its 
position  in  the  text,  it  furnishes  no 
valid  argument  for  the  doctrine  of 
the  three  persons  in  one  God.  For 
the  reason  assigned  by  Jesus  himself 
for  his  having  the  judgment  commit- 
ted to  him  was  not  because  he  was 
the  Son  of  God,  or  divine  in  his 
being,  but  because  he  was  the  Son 
of  man,  and  might  be  supposed  to 
have  a  fellow-feeling  with  those  who 
were  brought  before  his  tribunal. 
John  V.  22,  27.  Dr.  Priestley  justly 
says,  "  The  judgment-seat  of  Christ 
and  that  of  God  are  the  same ;  not 
because  Christ  is  God,  but  because 
he  acts  in  the  name  and  by  the  author- 
ity of  God,  which  is  fully  expressed 
when  it  is  said  that  '  God  will  judge 
the  world  by  Jesus  Christ.' "  2  Cor. 
V.  10. 

11,  12.  For  it  is  written.  Isa.  xlv. 
23.  The  dominion  over  the  faith  and 
the  conscience  belonged  unto  God, 
and  not  to  man,  and  confession  was 
to  be  made,  not  to  fallible  and  harsh- 
judging  mortals,  but  to  the  Lord  and 
Searcher  of  the  heart.  This  was  the 
declaration  of  the  earlier  Scriptures, 
and  this  was  the  spirit  of  the  later 
dispensation.  It  is  possible,  however, 
that  the  profession  of  faith  is  rather 
meant  here,  than  confession  of  sins. 
—  Shall  give  account  of  himself ,  not 
of  another.  Gal.  vi.  4,  5.  Indepen- 
dent of  one  another,  they  were  aU  in 
common  dependent  on  God,  and  just 
in  proportion  as  they  were  free  from 
human  domination,  they  were  subject 
to  the  Divine  government.  What 
principle  can  operate  more  effectual- 
ly to  check  the  wrong-doer,  than  the 
thought,  that,  however  secret  his  act 


XIV.] 


TO   THE  RO'MANS. 


211 


us  not  therefore  judge  one  another  any  more :  but  judge  this  rather, 

that  no  man  put  a  stumbling-block  or  an  occasion  to  fall  in  his 
u  brother's  way.     I  know,  and  am  persuaded  by  the  Lord  Jesus,  that 

there  is  nothing  unclean  of  itself:  but  to  him  that  esteemeth  any- 
15  thing  to  be  unclean,  to  him  it  is  unclean.     But  if  thy  brother  be 

grieved  with  thy  meat,  now  walkest  thou  not  charitably.     Destroy 


may  be,  though  it  be  in  darkness  and 
solitude,  yet  he  is  open  to  the  inspec- 
tion of  One  who  will  bring  every 
work  into  judgment,  whether  it  be 
good  or  evil,  and  that  the  decisions 
of  this  judgment  will  be  more  per- 
fectly carried  out  in  the  world  of 
spirits  than  they  can  be  in  this  in- 
fancy of  our  being ! 

13.  Luke  vi.  37.  There  is  a  paro- 
nomasia, a  play  upon  words,  here : 
Judge  not  one  another,  but  judge  or 
decide  this  point,  &c.  He  wished  to 
persuade  the  stronger  to  bear  with 
the  weaker,  and  to  refrain  even  from 
practices  which  might  be  innocent 
m  themselves,  for  the  sake  of  those 
who  would  be  led  astray  by  their 
example.  Tholuck  remarks,  that 
"  the  disposition  which  Paul  evinces 
in  these  exhortations  proves  what  a 
mighty  influence  the  Christian  faith 
had  had  in  making  him  indulgent 
and  humble ;  for  if  we  reflect  upon 
his  natural  character,  we  can  well 
suppose  that  he  would  have  been 
more  chsposed  to  kindle  into  anger 
at  the  weak  and  scrupulous,  and  to 
treat  them  with  severity.  But  the 
spirit  of  Christ  had  taught  him  to  be 
weak  with  the  weak.  And  in  the 
Christian  Church,  which  is  never 
composed  but  of  those  who  bear  and 
those  who  are  borne,  this  is  the  only 
way  in  Avhich  the  bond  of  perfectness 
and  of  peace  can  subsist;  to  wit, 
when  the  child  aspires  to  manhood, 
and  the  man  becomes  a  child.  Such 
mutual  subordination  and  forbear- 
ance is  a  salutary  medicine  for  pride. 

14.  By  the  Lord  Jesus.  Either  by 
personal  communications,  of  which  in- 


stances are  given  in  Acts  ix.  4,  5, 
1  Cor.  xi.  23,  2  Cor.  xii.  1,  or  by  the 
natural  action  of  the  Gospel  upon  his 
character  in  giving  him  refinement  of 
thought,  and  charity,  and  gentleness 
of  heart.  —  Unclean  ;  i.  e.  common. 
Matt.  XV.  11.  As  much  as  to  say, 
the  ritual  standard  of  the  Jews  is  an 
artificial  one  ;  but  to  one  whose  con- 
science has  been  educated  in  that 
school,  some  things  are  lawful,  and 
others  are  unlawful,  and  he  must 
abide  by  his  own  personal  convic- 
tion ;  for  if  anything  is  common  to 
him,  or  unclean,  he  must  act  accord- 
ingly, and  respect  the  decisions  of 
his  own  mind.  For  if  he  does  not 
regard  his  own  rule,  then  he  is  not  in 
a  condition  to  become  a  good  subject 
of  any  other  kingdom.  Luke  vi.  37. 
15.  But,  while  the  rule  of  the  weak 
brother  is  plain,  and  he  must  obey 
the  present  dictate  of  conscience,  the 
rule  also  of  the  strong  brother  is  just 
as  plain ;  namely,  that  he  should  treat 
these  scruples  tenderly,  and  refrain 
from  wounchng  in  the  slightest  degree 
one  who  was  punctilious  in  meatsand 
drinks  and  days.  Jesus  set  the  ex- 
ample of  even  dying  that  he  might 
save,  not  the  strong,  but  the  weak,  and 
caU,  not  the  righteous,  but  sinners,  to 
repentance.  A  savor  of  his  compas- 
sionate and  all-sacrificing  spirit  was 
to  be  the  ameliorating  influence  to 
act  on  these  relations  between  Chris- 
tians at  different  stages  of  progress 
and  spiritual  culture.  —  Destroy  not 
him,  &c.  I.  e.  peril  not  his  salvation 
by  inducing  him  to  adopt  a  course  of 
conduct  against  his  own  conscience. 
1  Cor.  viii.  11. 


2i2 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Ci 


not  him  with  thy  meat,  foi'  whom  Christ  died.     Let  not  then  your  le 
good  be  evil  spoken  of:  for  the  kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and  17 
di'ink ;  but  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 
For  he  that  in  these  things  serveth  Christ  is  acceptable  to  God,  is 


16,17.  Your  good.  By  which  may 
be  uuderstood  the  superior  intelli- 
gence and  liberty  of  those  who  were 
not  embarrassed  by  such  scruples. 
They  must  not,  by  their  want  of 
charity,  or  disposition  to  shock  the 
prejudices  of  their  less  advanced 
brethren,  forfeit  their  own  lofty  posi- 
tion of  independence,  and  bring  it 
into  ill-repute.  1  Cor.  viii.  8  ;  x.  29, 
30.—  The  kingdom  of  God,  &c.  The 
strong  antithesis  is  put  between  the 
observances  in  cpiestion  and  those 
master  principles  in  which  the  es- 
sence of  Christianity  consisted.  The 
category  of  non-essentials  might  be 
much  enlarged,  and  we  might  truly 
say,  The  kingdom  of  God  not  only 
does  not  consist  in  meat  and  drink, 
but  it  standeth  not  in  creeds,  in  cere- 
monials, in  names,  in  dogmas,  in  hu- 
man rules,  in  ecclesiastical  authority, 
about  which  there  have  been  such 
endless  contentions,  and  which,  by 
one  or  another  party,  have  been  set 
up  as  pillars  of  the  Church.  But  the 
Apostle  seizes  upon  the  spiritual 
points  as  the  vital  ones,  and  enumer- 
ates three,  righteousness,  peace,  and 
spiritual  joy,  as  comprehending  the 
leading  features  of  the  new  and  glo- 
rious kingdom.  Words  become,  by 
long  and  peculiar  use,  so  technical 
that  we  can  scarcely  penetrate  below 
them,  and  reach  the  living  fountain 
of  meaning  which  plays  at  the  bot- 
tom. But  in  the  first  word  he  de- 
termines the  prominent  object  of  the 
Gospel  to  be,  not  what  Luther  and 
his  followers  have  asserted,  justifica- 
tion by  faith,  but  righteousness  ;  the 
ardent  and  thorough-going  soul  of 
Paul  would  not  stop  short  of  the 
most  substantial  good,  the  reality  of 
reahties.    In  peace  or  peaceableness 


is  summed  up  the  true  position  to- 
wards others,  as  in  righteousness  is 
contained  that  pertaining  to  one's 
self,  and  in  holy  spiritual  joy,  joy  in 
the  Holy  G4ios*t,  a  right  posture  of 
soul  so  far  as  happiness  and  hope  are 
concerned.  Not  that  such  enumera- 
tion by  any  means  exhausts  the  whole 
subject,  but  we  may  suppose  that  the 
Apostle  uses  the  most  pregnant  words, 
and  instinctively  selected  each  one  as 
the  representative  of  a  salient  point 
in  the  Christian  style  of  character. — 
Holy  Ghost.  As  the  first  letters  of 
these  words  are  commonly  printed  in 
capitals,  the  impression  is  made  that 
a  person  is  meant,  the  so-called  third 
person  of  the  Ti^nity.  But  that  this 
is  not  necessarily  the  interpretation 
is  evident  from  the  writings  even  of 
some  Trinitarian  critics;  for  Le  Clerc, 
Limborch,  and  Schleusner  refer  the 
phrase  to  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  in 
fact  to  Christianity,  as  the  holy  prin- 
ciple and  energy  which  gives  true  en- 
jo}'ment  to  man's  heart.  See  Wilson's 
Concessions,  on  this  passage.  The 
words  Holy  Ghost  may  also  be  ap- 
plied to  righteousness  and  peace,  as 
well  as  to  joj/.  The  holy  spirit  of  the 
Gospel  would  dilate  and  sanctify  aU 
these  words  with  a  new  and  fuller 
signification.  Lardner  understands 
the  Apostle,  not  as  speaking  of  the 
joy  which  we  possess  ourselves,  but 
of  that  which  we  are  instrumental  in 
imparting  to  others,  the  satisfaction 
which  we  procure  to  our  fellow-men. 
18,  19.  The  three  lines  of  action, 
service  to  Christ,  acceptableness  with 
God,  and  favor  among  men,  are, 
when  rightly  balanced,  harmonious 
wath  one  another.  Natural  piety  and 
faith  in  Jesus  and  morality  in  society 
are  kindred  each  with  the  other.   We 


XIV.] 


TO  THE  KOMANS. 


213 


19  and  approved  of  men.     Let  us  therefore  follow  after  the  thino-s 
which  make  for  peace,  and  thhigs  wherewith  one  may  edify  an- 

20  other.     For  meat  destroy  not  the  work  of  God.    All  thino-s  indeed 

21  are  pure ;  but  it  is  evil  for  that  man  who  eateth  with  offence.    It  is 
good  neither  to  eat  flesh,  nor  to  drink  wine,  nor  anything  whereby 


here  have  a  declaration  as  to  what  is 
the  ground  of  justification  or  ac- 
ceptance with  God ;  namely,  spirit- 
ual righteousness,  peaceableness,  and 
happiness.  Eph.  iv.  3.  The  clear 
and  potent  duty  of  a  Christian,  there- 
fore, is  to  promote  friendly  and  pacific 
feelings,  and  mutual  improvement  in 
spiritual  things.  To  edify  one  an- 
other was  to  build  up  one  another  in 
the  Christian  life,  afi:er  the  usual 
figure  of  the  Apostle.  Instead  of 
thwarting  this  great  purpose,  either 
by  harsh  condemnation  on  one  side,  or 
by  silent  contempt  on  the  other,  the 
disciples  were  to  unite  all  their  spir- 
itual forces  to  help  one  another ;  for 
if  Christianity  can  be  expressed  by 
any  one  word,  that  word  is  love. 

20,  21.  He  perseveres  in  his  theme 
of  charity  and  forbearance.  Above, 
it  was,  Destroy  not  the  work  of  Christ, 
ver.  15  ;  here,  it  is.  Destroy  not  the 
work  of  God,  by  indulgence  in  an 
unimportant  matter  of  food  ;  for 
though  you  may  be  able  to  do  it  with 
a  clear  conscience  yourself,  yet  to 
another  man  it  has  the  rank  odor  of 
guilt.  Abstractly  considered,  one  kind 
of  food  may  be  as  innocent  as  another, 
but  as  men  are  educated,  what  is 
harmless  to  one  is  laden  with^in  to 
another.  Conscience  is  not  a  fixed 
quantity,  but  a  movable  term,  a 
fluxion  ;  for  though  it  exists  in  all,  it 
is  as  various  in  form  and  texture  as 
the  features  of  the  face.  Perhaps  the 
human  being  could  not  be  found  who 
does  not  recognize  something  as  right 
and  something  as  wrong,  something  as 
good  and  something  as  evil ;  but  the 
particular  things  called  right  and  good, 
or  wrong  and  evil,  will  be  found  to 


vary  widely  in  different  ages,  coun- 
tries, and  rehgions.  Charity,  there- 
fore, must  go  with  conscience  as  its 
appropriate  balance-wheel.  —  It  is 
good  neither  to  eat  Jiesh  nor  to  drink 
icine,  &c.  The  very  important  prin- 
ciple is  here  introduced,  that  we 
should  ^ve  up  even  innocent  gratifi- 
cations in  themselves,  for  the  sake  of 
helping  our  brother  more  effectually 
in  his  work  of  reformation  and  self- 
improvement.  One  of  the  specifica- 
tions is  no  longer  applicable,  —  that 
of  eating  flesh ;  but  the  other,  the 
drinking  of  wine,  or  any  spirituous 
liquors,  though  for  different  reasons 
than  those  which  existed  in  the  time 
of  Paul,  still  stands  as  good  as  ever. 
The  Temperance  reformation  has 
brought  this  idea  into  great  promi- 
nence and  use.  And  were  such  a 
thing  possible  as  that  we  could  our- 
selves use  the  articles  as  a  beverage 
with  perfect  impunity,  it  would  remain 
as  an  act  of  virtue,  and  as  a  Christian 
duty,  according  to  the  lofty  standard 
of  Paul's  morality,  to  abstain  totally 
from  them  for  the  sake  of  our  neigh- 
bor, who  may  be  addicted  to  bad 
habits,  and  who  may  be  capable  of 
being  restored  to  the  paths  of  sobriety 
and  reason  if  he  meet  with  proper 
sympathy  and  pure  examples  and 
high  principle  among  those  able  to 
befriend  him.  The  ancient  Christian 
was  to  abstain  from  wine,  lest  its  use 
should  scandalize  his  weaker  brother, 
who  looked  upon  it  as  a  horrible  prof- 
anation to  drink  what  might  have 
been  procured  to  be  used  as  a  liba- 
tion in  the  idol-worship.  The  modern 
Christian  is,  by  the  same  rule  of  ten- 
der solicitude  for  his  brother's  virtue 


214 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


thj  brother  stumbleth,  or  is  offended,  or  is  made  weak.     Hast  tliou  22 
faith?    have    it  to    thyself  before  God.     Happy   is  he  that  con- 
demneth  not  himself  in  that  tiling  which  he  alloweth.     And  he  23 
that  doubteth  is  damned  if  he  eat,  because  he  eateth  not  of  faith : 
for  whatsoever  is  not  of  faith  is  sin. 


and  sobriety,  to  abstain  from  the 
same  article,  if  by  such  an  act  he  can 
save  a  soul  from  death,  and  hide  a 
multitude  of  sins. 

22,  23.  'By  faith  in  these  verses  is 
not  meant  the  religion  of  Jesus  in 
general,  but  rather  a  personal  con- 
viction of  what  is  right.  It  is  a  senti- 
ment, which  is  to  be  cherished  as  be- 
tween the  soul  and  its  Maker,  as  too 
dear  and  precious  a  thing  to  be  at 
the  beck  of  fashion  or  caprice,  or  to 
be  adopted  as  an  imitation  of  other 
men.  1  John  iii.  21.  While  having 
this  personal  confidence  that  what 
you  are  doing  is  right,  do  not  carry 
it  out  in  such  a  way  as  to  cause  your 
brother-man  to  sin.  Be  willing  to 
concede  a  point  to  his  scruples,  if  it 
is  a  matter  in  which  you  will  not 
violate  your  sense  of  duty.  —  Hast 
thou  faith  f  Griesbach  and  Tischen- 
dorf  read  it  without  the  interrogation. 
Thou  hast  faith.  —  Happy  is  he,  &c. 
St.  Paul  has  here  laid  down  the  true 
method  of  the  culture  of  a  sound  and 
a  dehcate  conscience ;  namely,  in 
things  positively  commanded  by  the 
law  of  God,  to  yield  unhesitating 
obedience,  but  in  things  indifferent 
to  follow  the  leadings  of  conscience, 
to  obey  carefully  what  on  the  whole 
seems  to  be  for  the  best ;  and  thus,  by 
doing  the  nearest  duty,  the  path  of 
life  grows  clearer,  and  the  discrim- 
inating power  of  conscience  is  in- 
creased. But  while  all  this  work  is 
faithfully  and  sedulously  carried  on 
within  the  confines  of  the  heart,  ex- 
ternally, in  our  treatment  of  other 
men  and  our  example  and  influence 
with  them,  we  are  with  as  much 
jealousy  to  avoid  overrithng  their 
honest   scruples,    though   they  may 


seem  to  us  to  be  weak  and  imma- 
terial, as  we  should  guard  against 
suffering  our  own  to  be  trampled  un- 
der foot.  While,  then,  conscience  is 
the  keeper  of  peace  at  home,  charity 
is  the  keeper  of  peace  abroad.  —  He 
that  doubteth  is  damned,  &c.,  is  con- 
demned. Thus  Neander  paraphrases : 
"  An  individual  who,  though  not 
sufiiciently  advanced  in  Christian 
knowledge  to  attain  the  conviction 
that  the  eating  of  meat  sacrificed  to 
idols  is  in  itself  indifferent,  is  yet 
seduced  by  worldly  considerations  to 
partake  of  it,  acts  in  a  manner  de- 
serving of  condemnation,  since  he 
does  not  act  according  to  his  convic- 
tions. And,  ver.  15,  whoever  eats  of 
flesh  offered  to  idols,  following  his 
own  inclination,  and  taking  no  ac- 
count of  the  scruples  of  his  weak 
brother,  and  thus  seduces  him  to  fol- 
low his  example  without  a  firm  con-  j 
viction  of  its  rectitude,  troubles  his  ^ 
brother's  conscience,  and  acts  himself 
contrary  to  the  law  of  love,  and  sins."  " 
1  Cor.  viii.  12.  —  For  ichatsoever  is 
not  of  faith  is  sin;  i.  e.  whatever  is 
not  done  with  a  persuasion  of  its  law- 
fulness is  sinful.  This  rule  apphes 
just  as  much  to  the  uninstructed  as 
to  the  instructed  conscience.  The 
philo.?bphy  and  the  morality  of  Paul's 
doctrine  are  alike  sound  and  rational. 
For  conscience  is  given  to  each  man, 
and  he  must  follow  his  own,  and  not 
another  man's,  standard  of  duty.  If 
it  is  a  dark,  or  a  scrupulous,  or  a 
morbid  conscience,  still  it  is  the  best 
he  has,  and  he  must  follow  it  notwith- 
standing its  imperfections.  And  if 
he  thus  faithfully  adheres  to  its  dic- 
tates, it  will  grow  clearer  and  more 
intelligent,  and  its  decisions  wiU  more 


XV. 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


215 


CHAPTER   XV. 

The  same  Subject  continued;  and  the  Success  of  Paul's  Ministry  among  the  Gentiles^  as 
being  blessed  bij  God. 

We  then  that  are  strong  ought  to  bear  the  infirmities  of  the  weak, 


and  more  come  into  unison  Avith  the 
everlasting  right  and  truth.  For  he 
who  truly  obe}s  conscience  will  obey 
one  of  its  ceaseless  requisitions,  which 
is,  that  he  should  not  hearken  to  ob- 
stinate self-will,  or  prejudice,  but  that 
he  should  seek  every  means  in  liis 
power  of  enlightening  his  sense  of 
duty,  as  well  as  of  rigidly  obeying  it, 
and  should  call  in  the  service  of  the 
intellect  and  the  heart  as  necessary 
assistants  to  a  clear  and  comprehen- 
sive conscientiousness,  such  as  is  con- 
stantly becoming  conformed  to  the 
unerring  standard  of  right  in  the 
moral  government  of  God. 

It  is  most  interesting  and  beautiful 
to  see  how  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus 
and  his  Apostles  thus  matches  the 
moral  and  spiritual  constitution  of 
man,  so  that  not  tlie  hght  is  more 
harmonious  and  pleasant  to  the  eye, 
nor  the  bread  more  strengthening  to 
the  digestive  organs.  We  perceive 
that  there  is,  so  to  speak,  a  dim  native 
Christianity  in  the  soul,  which  only 
requires  to  be  brought  into  union 
with  the  Christianity  of  the  New 
Testament  to  come  out  in  clear  and 
luminous  outlines,  and  to  glow  with 
a  divine  beauty  and  sanctity.  For 
does  not  reason  always  darkly  teach 
even  in  the  lowest  ?  Does  not  con- 
science command  with  more  or  less 
authority '?  Does  not  hope  spring 
eternal  in  the  breast  ?  Does  not  love 
ever  keep  a  coal  burning  on  even 
the  humblest  altar  of  the  heart  ? 
But  how  soon,  when  Jesus  speaks  the 
word  of  energy  and  progress  to  these 
ever-living  and  ever-working  powers, 
do  they  put  on  such  new  and  more 
heavenly  forms,  acquire  such  superi- 


ority over  the  lower  propensities  and 
the  superficial  desires  of  the  animal 
nature,  that  we  say,  Behold,  a  new 
birth,  a  new  man !  For  a  son  of 
man  and  of  the  earth,  we  have  a  son 
of  God  and  heaven,  and  it  doth  not 
yet  appear  what  he  shall  be. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

At  the  close  of  the  fourteenth  chap- 
ter, Griesbach  appends  the  25th,  2Gth, 
and  27th  verses  of  chapter  sixteen, 
as  properly  belonging  there,  and  he 
has  many  distinguished  Bibhcal  critics 
mth  him  in  this  opinion.  But  the 
reasons,  both  from  manuscripts  and 
from  versions,  and  also  from  the  in- 
ternal character  of  the  passage  and 
its  most  probable  position  on  the 
whole,  decide  the  question  the  other 
way. 

i  -  13.  This  paragraph  is  occupied 
■with  the  subject  of  the  last  chapter, 
the  proper  treatment  of  the  disciples 
by  one  another  in  the  internal  rela- 
tions of  the  Church,  and  the  mutual 
conciliation  of  Jews  and  Gentiles. 
Their  peculiar  position  recpiired  the 
full  exercise  of  those  graces  of  tender- 
ness, gentleness,  forbearance,  respect, 
and  patience,  which  properly  belong 
to  the  Christian  character.  "  His  ob- 
ject -was,  on  the  one  hand,  to  check 
the  free-thinking  Gentile  Christians 
from  self-exaltation  in  relation  to 
their  weaker  Jemsh  brethren  in  the 
faith  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  to  re- 
mind the  Jewish  Christians  that  the 
admission  of  the  Gentiles  into  the 
kingdom  of  God  was  no  InlWngement 
of  the  rights  of  the  Jewish  people, 
and  that  it  was  in  unison  with  the 
predictions  of  the  Old  Testament." 


216 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Ci 


and  not  to  please  ourselves.     Let   every  one  of  us  please   his  2 
neiglibor  for  his  good  to  edification.      For  even  Clirist  pleased  3 
not  himself;  but,  as  it  is  written,  The  rej)roaches  of  them  that 
reproached  thee  fell  on  me.     For  whatsoever  things  were  written  4 


1,  2.  The  strong  were  those  who 
disregarded  superstitious  scruples, 
and  the  loeak  those  who  still  remained 
so  far  in  their  previous  faith  as  to 
judge  of  right  and  wrong  by  that 
standard  rather  than  by  the  superior 
rule  of  Christ.  1  Cor.  viii.  7  ;  ix.  19; 
1  Thess.  V.  14.  So  the  strong  were 
not  to  feel  their  might,  and  forget 
right,  but  they  were  to  be  gentle,  and 
kind  towards  those  less  robust  than 
themselves  in  adhering  to  a  clear  and 
Christian  principle.  But  in  yielding 
to  the  wishes  and  scruples  of  others, 
it  was  necessary  to  make  one  qualifi- 
cation, that  it  should  be  for  his  bene- 
fit, not  for  his  harm,  not  to  encourage 
him  in  anything  which  Avas  positively 
wrong,  but  to  lead  along  and  encour- 
age his  timid  faith  until  it  acquired 
full  vigor,  and  was  freed  from  all 
morbid  tendencies.  This  was  the 
edification,  the  building  up  of  one's 
neighbor  in  a  noble  and  sound  man- 
hood, a  true  Christian  character. 

3.  The  illustrious  example,  that 
shines  like  the  sun  in  a  dark  and 
selfish  world,  is  given  to  corroborate 
the  precept.  Jesus  was  forbearing, 
gracious,  tender,  sympathetic,  bear- 
ing long  with  his  disciples,  and  lead- 
ing tliera  gently  in  all  their  wayward- 
ness, even  as  a  shepherd  his  sheep. 
It  certainly  is  a  striking  proof  of  the 
practical  character  of  Christ  and  of 
his  Gospel,  that  he  took  his  disciples 
just  as  they  were,  rude  and  coarse 
and  sinful  and  weak,  like  the  rest  of 
the  world,  and  not  rare  and  unusual 
specimens  of  human  nature,  and  that 
out  of  these  unpromising  materials 
he  created  "the  glorious  company 
of  the  Apostles " ;  but  the  wonder- 
ful alchemy  by  which  he  effected 
so  divine  a  transformation  was  the 


patience  of  love  and  the  persever- 
ance of  faith.  Ps.  Ixix.  9  ;  John  viii. 
50. —  The  reproaches  of  them,  &c. 
The  language  of  the  Psalmist  was 
made  good,  and  the  complaint  of 
David,  that  the  reproaches  against 
God  fell  upon  his  servant,  was  veri- 
fied in  the  life  of  Jesus.  "  Ye  have 
both  seen  and  hated  both  me  and  my 
Father,"  were  his  Avords  to  the  Jews. 
4.  2  Tim.  iii.  16.  This  verse  is 
worthy  of  the  attention  of  those  who 
think  they  have  wholly  outgrown  the 
Old  Testament,  and  can  derive  no 
more  instruction  or  aid  from  it  in  the 
spiritual  life  ;  for  by  the  Scriptures  is 
here  meant,  of  course,  the  Law  and 
the  Prophets.  The  great  end,  too, 
which  they  are  fitted  to  subserve,  is 
also  touched  upon ;  viz.  as  a  moral 
and  spiritual,  not  a  dogmatic  instru- 
ment. It  is  as  sentiment,  not  as  dog- 
ma, not  as  a  statement  of  doctrines 
upon  any  subject,  or  even  as  a  rule 
and  precept,  that  we  now  use  these 
venerable  books.  They  are  "pa- 
tience and  comfort "  to  us ;  they  in- 
spire "  hope  "  and  courage ;  they  lay 
open  the  deep  places  of  human  na- 
ture ;  and  they  burn  with  a  per- 
petual devotion  to  God,  and  enthu- 
siasm for  his  holy  cause.  As  kindling 
memorials  of  the  piety  of  the  saints 
and  heroes  of  the  most  ancient  ages, 
they  will  remain  dear  to  the  Chris- 
tian heart  through  all  generations. 
But  if  the  Apostle  is  justified  in  using 
such  strong  language  in  reference  to 
the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  how  much 
more  truly  may  we  say  of  the  life  of 
Christ  and  of  his  disciples,  and  the 
divine  truths  of  the  Gospel,  that  they 
were  written  aforetime  for  our  learn- 
ing, that  we  through  patience  and 
comfort    of   these    later    Scriptures 


XV.] 


TO   THE  ROMANS. 


217 


aforetime  Tvere  written  for  our  learning,  that  we  through  patience 

5  and  comfort  of  the  Scriptures  might  have  hope.     Now  the  God  of 
patience  and  consolation  grant  you  to  be  like-minded  one  toward 

6  another  according  to  Christ  Jesus :  that  ye  may  with  one  mind  and 
one  mouth  glorify  God,  even  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

7  Wherefore  receive  ye  one  another,  as  Christ  also  received  us,  to  the 


might  have  hope.  For  they  teach  us 
by  all  their  manifold  examples  and 
lessons,  that  this  is  not  a  world  so 
dead  and  fallen  in  which  we  have 
our  being,  but  that  it  is  alive  in  every 
part  with  the  presence  and  power 
and  spirit  of  our  God.  When  we 
pray,  we  speak  not  into  the  dark, 
address  no  deaf  Deity,  but  one  instant 
to  hear  and  to  answer,  and  ever 
ready  to  give  a  greater  good  than  we 
can  pray  for,  though  it  may  not  be 
the  one  to  which  we  cling  in  our 
fond  wishes.  So  that  we  are  taught, 
whatever  form  or  creed  we  may  pro- 
fess, that  religion  is  a  living  senti- 
ment of  the  heart ;  of  patience,  com- 
fort, and  hope ;  and  that  its  all- 
animating  exhortation  is,  "Wait  on 
the  Lord,  be  of  good  courage,  and  he 
shall  strengthen  tliine  heart :  wait,  I 
say,  on  the  Lord." 

5,  6.  Having  spoken  of  the  Scrip- 
tures as  a  source  of  patience  and 
comfort,  he  is  led  by  the  law  of  asso- 
ciation to  that  higher  and  living  foun- 
tain of  these  and  all  other  graces  in 
God  himself  2  Thess.  iii.  16 ;  Phil, 
ii.  2.  Those  were  but  broken  beams 
of  light,  this  the  Eternal  Sun  itself 
But  it  was  not  as  the  abstract  Deity, 
as  the  Infinite  and  Incomprehensible, 
that  he  presents  himself  to  us,  but  he 
comes  within  the  circle  of  our  faith 
and  affections  as  the  Father  of  Jesus, 
as  bowing  his  majesty  and  manifest- 
ing all  that  could  be  manifested  of 
his  perfect  attributes  in  a  being  like 
unto  ourselves.  Two  natural  conse- 
quences flowed  from  this  revelation 
and  faith  of  God  as  a  Father;  one 
was  to  be  like-minded  one  toward 
19 


another,  —  the  social  duty ;  and  the 
other  was,  with  one  mind  and  one 
mouth  to  glorify  God  in  his  newly 
discovered  character  of  Father,  — the 
spiritual  duty.  So  that  in  these  verses 
we  have  the  two  great  eternal  poles, 
the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  Broth- 
erhood of  Mankind,  around  which  the 
whole  moral  heavens  revolve,  —  Con- 
isolation.  Uniformity  of  rendering 
would  translate  this  word  comfort^  as 
in  the  foregoing  verse.  —  With  one 
mind  and  one  mouth  glorify  God. 
"  The  noble  consequence  of  that  con- 
cord is,  that  the  whole  Church,  like 
a  fraternal  choir,  gives  praise  to  God." 
—  God,  even  the  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  We  see  here  the  great 
clearness  with  which  Jesus  is  distin- 
guished from  God,  and  the  character 
given  to  God  as  being  the  Father  ot 
Jesus,  and  as  such  the  sole  object 
of  Avorship  to  Christians.  Certainly 
Paul  would  have  looked  with  undis- 
guised amazement  upon  the  fact,  if 
he  had  foreseen  it,  that  his  writings 
would  be  quoted  in  support  of  the 
idea  that  God  and  Jesus  were  one 
and  the  same  being,  or  that  He  who 
was  called  the  Father  and  he  who 
was  called  the  Son  were  in  any  other 
sense  one  than  in  love  and  coopera- 
tion, or  that  supreme  honor  and  wor- 
ship should  be  given  to  any  but  to 
God,  the  Father  of  Jesus,  of  angels, 
and  of  men. 

7.  The  superlative  example  of  this 
gracious  behavior  was  Jesus  Christ; 
and  every  one  that  named  him  as 
friend  and  teacher  was  to  aspire  after 
a  like  perfection,  without,  however, 
losing  his  own   identity  or  individ- 


218 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


glory  of  God.  Now  I  say  that  Jesus  Christ  was  a  minister  of  the  a 
circumcision  for  the  truth  of  God,  to  confirm  the  promises  made  unto 
the  fathers  :  and  that  the  Gentiles  might  glorify  God  for  Ms  mercy ;  9 
as  it  is  written,  For  this  cause  I  will  confess  to  thee  among  the  Gen-  • 
tiles,  and  sing  unto  thy  name.  And  again  he  saith,  rejoice,  ye  Gentiles,  10 
with  liis  people.  And  again.  Praise  the  Lord,  all  ye  Gentiles ;  and  11 
laud  him,  all  ye  people.  And  again,  Esaias  saith,  There  shall  be  a  12 
root  of  Jesse,  and  he  that  shall  rise  to  reign  over  the  Gentiles ;  in  hun 
shall  the  Gentiles  trust.    Now  the  God  of  hope  fill  you  with  all  joy  13 


uality.  Jesus  teaches  us  not  to  he 
poor  imitators,  but  to  develop  our- 
selves after  the  true  plan  with  which 
we  were  created ;  to  be,  in  the  com- 
mon phrase,  ourselves  and  nobody 
else.  But  we  are  taught  by  facts  and 
examples ;  and  in  Christianity  we  are 
introduced  to  the  spotless  character 
of  Jesus  and  the  infinite  perfections 
of  God  as  evidences  of  the  reaUty 
and  beauty  of  goodness.  Jesus  leads 
his  followers  "  to  the  glory  of  God," 
and  it  is  the  duty  and  joy  of  every 
one  who  has  tasted  the  sweetness  and 
power  of  a  spiritual  life  to  cooperate 
in  the  same  work  of  rescuing  men 
from  sin  and  woe,  and  to  open  to 
them  the  glorious  hopes  of  the  Chris- 
tian future.  Properly  constituted  and 
conducted,  every  church  is  a  rehgious 
Normal  School. 

8.  From  the  great  stress  the  Apos- 
tle had  put  upon  the  privileges  of  the 
Gentiles,  some  might  be  led  to  the 
conclusion  that  he  overlooked  the 
Jews.  But  no ;  he  reminds  them  that 
Jesus  was  the  great  teacher  of  the 
Hebrew  dispensation,  the  fulfiller  of 
the  hopes  of  the  chosen  people.  So 
far  from  rejecting  his  people,  God 
had  crowned  all  his  other  mercies 
to  them  of  prophet  and  priest  and 
psalmist,  by  sending  the  Son  of  his 
love  to  teach  the  consummation  of  all 
his  plans  and  to  perfect  the  promises 
he  had  made  unto  the  fathers  from 
the  beginning,  namely,  that  in  him 
all  nations  should  be  blessed. 


9-13.  And  one  of  the  most  mem- 
orable of  those  Hebrew  promises  was, 
that  the  Gentiles  should  be  embraced 
in  the  scheme  of  salvation,  as  was  in- 
dicated by  the  prophets.  The  pas- 
sages quoted  may  be  found  in  Ps. 
xviii.  50;  Ixvii.  5;  cxvii.  1;  Deut. 
xxxii.  43;  Isa.  xi.  10;  and  they  all 
bear  upon  the  point  that  the  Jews 
were  favored  with  a  revelation  of  the 
will,  love,  and  goodness  of  God;  not 
for  their  selfish  aggrandizement,  or 
even  for  their  own  highest  spiritual 
gi'owth,  but  that  they  were  a  trust 
company  for  the  world  to  keep  in  its 
purity,  and  to  transmit  unimj^aired 
to  the  farthest  dwellers  on  earth,  and 
to  the  most  distant  ages,  the  glorious 
wisdom  of  God,  the  richest,  purest, 
and  most  dehghtful  of  all  knowledge. 
They  were  the  light-bearers  of  the 
race ;  but  in  proportion  to  their 
duty  and  trust  was  the  privilege  of 
the  Gentiles.  If  the  glory  of  the 
chosen  people  was  brilliant,  in  that 
very  proportion  was  the  claim  and 
reasonable  expectation  of  the  rest  of 
mankind  great.  —  Now  the  God  of 
liope^  &c.  It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell 
upon  each  separate  clause  of  this  pas- 
sage, but  the  fourteenth  verse  ex- 
presses so  jubilant  a  strain,  and  char- 
acterizes so  forcibly  the  Christian 
spirit,  that  it  deserves  a  passing  word. 
"  In  him  shall  the  Gentiles  trust,"  or 
hope.  "Now  the  God  of  hope  fill 
you  with  all  joy,"  &c.  How  many 
encouraging  words  are  in  this  single 


XV.] 


TO  THE  ROMANS. 


219 


and  peace  in  believing,  that  ye  may  abound  in  hope,  through  the 

14  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  I  myself  also  am  persuaded  of 
you,  my  brethren,  that  ye  also  are  full  of  goodness,  filled  with  all 

15  knowledge,  able  also  to  admonish  one  another.  Nevertheless,  breth- 
ren, I  have  written  the  more  boldly  unto  you  in  some  sort,  as  putting 
you  in  mind,  because  of  the  grace  that  is  given  to  me  of  God, 

16  that  I  should  be  the  minister  of  Jesus  Chi'ist  to  the  Gentiles, 
mmistering  the  Gospel  of  God,  that  the  offering  up  of  the  Gentiles 


verse,  and  what  energy  and  elasticity 
are  bound  up  in  its  few  phrases ! 
Hope,  joy,  peace,  power,  God,  Holy 
Ghost,  abounding,  and  believing ! 
Too  sadly  and  solemnly  has  this  same 
'  thing,  religion,  brooded  over  the  dim 
world  of  humanity,  and  dulled  the 
fine  edge  of  joy,  and  darkened  the 
hope  of  man,  and  weakened  his  power, 
and  harrowed  up  his  peace,  and  ^ven 
him  false  and  degrading  ideas  of  the 
glory  of  God  and  his  all-surrounding 
and  holy  spirit.  But  it  has  not  been 
the  pure  religion  of  Jesus  and  of  Paul 
which  has  done  this,  but  the  erroneous 
systems  of  Jewish  and  Pagan  philos- 
ophy that  have  stolen  their  way  into 
the  holy  of  holies  of  the  Gospel,  and 
that  have  set  themselves  up  above  all 
that  is  called  God.  For  we  see  by 
this  verse,  and  a  hundred  others  in 
this  Epistle,  how  full  of  joyous  life, 
power,  peace,  and  hope,  is  the  gen- 
uine Christian  spirit;  and  while  it  is 
so  tender,  gentle,  and  sympathetic 
towards  the  weakest  of  the  brethren, 
how  strong  and  brave  it  is  in  all  manly 
and  majestic  attributes ! 

"  Joj"^  e'en  here  I  a  budding  flower, 
Struggling  with  storm  and  shower, 
Till  its  season  to  expand, 
Planted  in  its  native  land." 

14,  15.  After  so  much  free  speak- 
ing and  lecturing,  Paul,  like  a  true 
Christian  gentleman  as  he  was,  depre- 
cates the  idea  of  intending  to  be 
censorious  or  dictatorial  towards  the 
Roman  Christians;  for  he  was  con- 
vinced, on  one  hand,  that  they  were 


not  unworthy  persons  by  any  means, 
but  endowed  with  a  large  measure  of 
current  virtue,  as  the  Church  went ; 
and  on  the  other,  that  his  claim  of  giv- 
ing advice  was  not  wholly  unauthor- 
ized and  gratuitous,  for  he  had  been 
put  in  commission  with  the  Gospel. 
He  was  too  apt  a  student  of  human  na- 
ture not  to  know  that  a  due  modicum 
of  praise  is  a  great  auxiUary  of  well- 
doing, and  that  many  virtues  are 
starved  to  death  in  this  world  be- 
cause they  never  get  a  word  of  com- 
mendation, but  receive,  perhaps,  in- 
stead of  it,  blame  and  reproach.  The 
gracious  Lord  of  all  does  not  hesitate 
to  say,  Well  done,  good  and  faithful 
servant !  and  we  may  so  far  folloAv  so 
high  and  mighty  an  example,  at  a 
humble  distance,  as  to  say,  that  we 
know  of  our  brethren  that  they  are 
"full  of  goodness."  Magical  and 
electric  is  the  word  of  praise ;  espe- 
cially is  it  a  great  and  good  thing  "  to 
be  praised  by  a  praiseworthy  man." 
And  in  the  case  of  the  text,  we  know 
that  all  eulogistic  words  were  so  quali- 
fied and  balanced  by  the  cautions 
and  admonitions  of  the  Apostle,  that 
none  of  his  readers  would  be  injured 
by  his  congratulations.  The  poor, 
persecuted  Christians  were  beset  be- 
fore and  behind  with  too  many  perils, 
toils,  and  woes  not  to  be  benefited 
by  a  good  word,  a  hearty  God-speed, 
while  all  the  world  was  looking  on  in 
scorn  and  contempt,  and  classing 
them  with  fools  and  fanatics. 

16,  17.  That  the  offering  up  of  the 


220 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


miglit  be  accej)table,  being  sanctified  by  the  Holy  Gbost.     I  liave  17 
therefore  whereof  I  may  glory  through  Jesus  Christ  in  those  things 
which  pertain  to  God.    For  I  will  not  dare  to  speak  of  any  of  those  18 
things  which  Christ  hath  not  wrought  by  me,  to  make  the  Gentiles 
obedient,  by  word  and  deed,  through  mighty  signs  and  wonders,  19 
by  the  power  of  the  Spii'it  of  God ;  so  that  from  Jerusalem,  and 
round  about  unto  Illyricum,  I  have  fully  preached  the  Gospel  of 
Christ.     Yea,  so  have  I  strived  to  preach  the  Gospel,  not  where  20 
Christ  was  named,  lest  I  should  build  upon  another  man's  founda- 
tion :  but  as  it  is  written.  To  whom  he  was  not  spoken  of,  they  shall  21 


Gentiles,  &c.  This  figure  of  speech 
was  in  harmony  with  the  customs  of 
Jewish  worship,  the  Apostle  being 
the  piiest  to  perform  divine  service, 
and  the  Gentiles  being  the  oblation 
to  be  offered  up,  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
being  the  power  to  give  sanctity  to 
the  sacrifice.  It  was  tlierefore  matter 
of  honest  congratulation  that  he  had 
met  with  so  much  success  in  preach- 
ing the  Gospel,  and  that  his  labors  in 
things  pertaining  to  God,  that  is,  the 
divine  service,  had  not  been  in  vain. 
While,  therefore,  disposed  to  praise 
others  within  reasonable  bounds,  he 
was  not  afraid  to  take  the  just  credit 
to  himself  of  being  a  useful  Apostle ; 
for  the  healthy  and  natural  virtue  of 
a  true  seh-estimation  belongs  to  St. 
Paul. 

18,  19.  He  was  not  disposed  to 
claim  any  undue  merit,  or  to  exag- 
gerate his  services,  but  he  wished 
simply  to  refer  to  the  words  and  to 
the  works  of  his  ministry,  as  tokens 
of  spiritual  and  divine  power,  and  to 
show  them  how,  through  these  in- 
strumentalities, the  Gentiles  had  been 
introduced  in  great  numbers  to  the 
knowledge  and  practice  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  The  circuit  of  this 
first  great  itinerant  of  the  Church 
was  from  the  central  point  of  Jerusa- 
lem over  the  countries  of  Judfea, 
Arabia,  Samaria,  Syria,  Phoenicia, 
Asia  Mnor,  Greece,  and  Macedonia, 


and  the  islands  in  the  ^gean  and 
Mediterranean  Seas,  to  the  country  of 
Illyricum,  in  the  circumference  which 
lay  between  Macedonia  and  the  Adri- 
atic. Illyricum  is  not  mentioned  in  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  in  the  enumera- 
tion of  the  travels  of  Paul,  though  it 
is  said  that  he  went  over  the  parts  of 
the  country  contiguous  to  Macedonia, 
Acts  XX.  2  ;  and  he  probably  at  that 
time  entered  Elyricum.  The  history 
and  the  Epistle  give,  therefore,  an 
incidental  support  to  one  another. — 
Fully  persuaded  implied  that  he  had 
made  a  complete  declaration  of  the 
truths  of  the  Gospel,  and  full  jDroof  of 
all  the  offices  of  his  ministry.  2  Cor. 
ii.  12-14;  Acts  xix.  1,  10,  21. 

20,  21.  It  appears  from  this  pas- 
sage, and  also  from  2  Cor.  x.  16,  that 
it  was  a  strict  rule  of  the  Apostle's 
ministry  not  to  sow  seed  on  another 
man's  field,  or  to  "  boast  in  another 
man's  line  of  ^hings  made  ready  to 
our  hands."  For  many  obvious 
reasons,  so  large  and  original  a  ge- 
nius as  Paul  preferred  to  make  his 
own  field  for  the  propagation  of  the 
Gospel.  There  was  less  growth  of 
errors,  sectarian  passions  had  not 
been  excited,  and  if  there  were  any 
to  whom  the  truth  was  not  as  yet 
"  spoken,"  it  was  all  the  more  neces- 
sary they  should  "  see,"  and  that 
those  who  had  not  "  heard  "  should 
"understand."    Isa.  Hi.  15.   <, 


XV.] 


TO  THE  ROMANS. 


221 


2-2  see :  and  tliey  that  have  not  heard  shall  understand.     For  which 

23  cause  also  I  have  been  much  hmdered  from  coming  to  you.  But 
now  having  no  more  place  in  these  parts,  and  having  a  great  desire 

24  these  many  years  to  come  unto  you,  whensoever  I  take  my  jour- 
ney into  Spain,  I  will  come  to  you :  for  I  trust  to  see  you  in  my 
journey,  and  to  be  brought  on  my  way  thitherward  by  you,  if  first 

25  I  be  somewhat  filled  with  yjour  company.     But  now  I  go  unto 

26  Jerusalem  to  minister  unto  the  saints.  For  it  hath  pleased  them 
of  Macedonia  and  Achaia  to  make  a  certain  contribution  for  the 


22-24.  St.  Paul  had  been  so  in- 
cessantly occupied  with  preaching  the 
Gospel  in  Greece  and  Syria,  and 
other  contiguous  countries,  that  he 
had  found  no  opportunity  to  visit 
Rome,  great  as  the  demand  of  the 
capital  was  upon  his  attention.  Chap. 
i.  10,  11,  13.  —  Having  no  more  place 
in  these  parts,  &c.  As  much  as  to 
say,  having  broken  ground  in  all  the 
principal  places  in  the  eastern  prov- 
inces of  the  Roman  empire,  and 
established  radiating  points  of  faith 
in  Ephesus,  Athens,  Corinth,  and 
other  cities,  he  was  prepared,  spirit- 
ual conqueror  and  leader  as  he  was, 
to  advance  upon  the  unoccupied 
West;  and  in  that  campaign  he  pro- 
posed to  make  Rome  a  place  to  halt 
and  recruit  in,  but  not  to  labor  in 
specially,  because  it  was  already  pre- 
occupied. The  extreme  point  of  his 
missionary  ambition  Avas  Spain,  as 
the  westernmost  country,  the  "  Ultmia 
Thule  "  of  Europe  in  that  direction ; 
but  the  intermediate  countries  were 
of  course  to  be  included.  It  is  a 
wholly  undecided  point  whether  Paul 
ever  visited  Spain  or  not,  but  the  prob- 
ability is  that  he  did  not,  as  he  in  his 
journey  to  Rome  was  taken  as  a  pris- 
oner, and  after  that  it  is  presumed 
he  had  no  opportunity  to  consum- 
mate his  sublime  plans  of  benev- 
olence.—  Broufjht  on  my  way,  &c. 
This  custom  of  accompanying  friends 
or  going  to  meet  them  on  a  journey 
was  more  common  in  the  early  stages 
19* 


of  society,  when  travelling  was  more 
laborious  and  perilous.  Acts  xxviii. 
15;  1  Cor.  xvi.  6.  —  Somewhat  filled 
with  your  company  ;  as  if  it  would  not 
be  easy  to  satiate  the  earnest  desires 
of  his  heart  to  see,  and  know,  and 
love  them.  To  the  great  heart  of 
Paul,  the  Roman  Christians  were  in- 
expressibly dear,  as  is  indicated  by 
his  messages  in  chap.  xvi.  to  each  one 
personally;  and  he  could  not  have 
enough  of  their  company. 

25  -  28.  He  here  describes  the 
cause  which  called  him  from  Corinth, 
where  he  is  now  writing  to  Jerusalem 
before  he  could  visit  Rome ;  namely, 
his  carrying  a  contribution  of  the 
Macedonian  and  Grecian  churches 
to  relieve  the  poor  disciples  at  Jeru- 
salem. This  reciprocity  of  return- 
ing temporal  favors  for  spiritual  ones 
was  every  way  advantageous,  as  the 
Church  was  then  circumstanced  ;  for 
it  relieved  the  poor  at  Jerusalem,  it 
cultivated  benevolence  in  Macedonia 
and  elsewhere,  it  taught  the  com- 
mencing Church  one  of  the  great 
lessons  of  its  aim  and  being,  it  served 
to  melt  away  that  wall  of  ice  which 
separated  Jews  from  Gentiles,  and 
it  gave  the  Apostle  an  opportunity  to 
confirm  his  theory  of  a  true  Church 
of  Christ  by  the  exhibition  of  its 
practical  working  and  usefulness.  1 
Cor.  xvi.  1-3.  The  incidental  valid- 
ity which  is  given  to  tMs  narrative 
by  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  has  been 
developed  by  Paley.     For  the  three 


222 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


poor  saints  which  are  at  Jerusalem.     It  hath  pleased  them  verily ;  27 
and  their  debtors  they  are.     For  if  the  Gentiles  have  been  made 
partakers  of  their  spiritual  things,  their  duty  is  also  to  minister 
unto  them  in  carnal  things.     When  therefore  I  have  performed  23 
tliis,  and  have  sealed  to  them  this  fruit,  I  will  come  by  you  into 
Spain.     And  I  am  sure  that,  when  I  come  unto  you,  I  shall  come  29 
in  the  fulness  of  the  blessing  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.     Now  I  be-  so 
seech  you,  brethren,  for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ's  ,sake,  and  for  the 
love  of  the  Spirit,  that  ye  strive  together  with  me  in  your  prayers 
to  God  for  me ;  that  I  may  be  dehvered  from  them  that  do  not  be-  31 
lieve,  in  Judoea ;  and  that  my  service  which  /  have  for  Jerusalem 


facts  here  referred  to,  a  contribution 
in  Macedonia,  a  contribution  in 
Achaia,  and  an  intention  of  Paul  to 
visit  Jerusalem,  see  Acts  xx.  2,  3 ; 
xxiv.  17-19;  2  Cor.  viii.  1  -  4  ;  ix.  2. 
Such  slight  but  agreeing  circum- 
stances are  perfectly  natural  in  an 
honest  conjunction  of  different  works, 
but  they  are  perfectly  incredible  as 
forgeries.  They  are  too  skilful  to 
have  befallen  by  chance,  and  they 
are  too  simple  to  have  been  contrived. 
The  comparative  poverty  of  the  dis- 
ciples at  Jerusalem,  and  the  wealth 
of  those  in  Macedonia  and  Achaia, 
gave  a  fine  opportunity  for  a  species 
of  benevolent  barter,  —  one  giving 
ti-uth,  and  the  other  gold,  one  ma- 
terial, and  the  other  spiritual  things. 
This  is  a  much  better  rule  of  judg- 
ment than  the  usual  worldly  idea, 
that  all  that  is  given  or  done  for 
churches,  ministers,  hospitals,  and 
missions  is  pure  charity ;  and  not 
that  it  is  in  reality  the  discharge  of  a 
sacred  debt  wliich  we  owe  for  our 
possession  and  enjoyment  of  the 
truth.  Therefore  the  Apostle  hesi- 
tates not  to  say  "  debtors  "  in  speak- 
ing of  the  Gentile  converts  to  Chris- 
tianity, If  there  is  gratuity  on  either 
side,  we  may  say  it  is  not  on  the  side 
of  religion ;  for  how  infinitely  do  the 
labors  of  such  a  man  as  Paul  out- 
weigh all  the  gold  and  silver  of  either 


hemisphere! — Sealed  to  them  tJiis 
fruit :  i.  e.  executed  the  plan  of  afford- 
ing aid  by  this  act  of  benevolence, 
this  fruit  of  the  Christian  spirit  and 
character.  —  Spain.  The  idea  of 
visiting  that  country  was  a  cherished 
plan,  and  the  way  in  which  he  re- 
peats the  word  indicates  the  free  and 
artless  character  of  a  letter. 

29.  Fulness  of  the  blessing.  The 
Hebrew  idiom  for  the  rich,  full  bless- 
ing of  the  Gospel.  Thus  does  Paul 
ever  speak  of  Christianity  as  some- 
thing great,  generous,  and  good,  of 
large  spirit,  of  charitable  temper. 

30-32.  He  reserves  to  the  last, 
with  his  usual  seff-forgetting  and  re- 
nouncing habit,  the  dangers  which 
threatened  himself  from  the  bigotry 
of  his  own  countrymen,  and  which 
finally  proved  fatal  by  sending  him  a 
prisoner  to  Rome,  where  he  after- 
wards suffered  martyrdom.  See  Acts 
XX.  22, 23,  where  the  narrative  authen- 
ticates the  present  passage.  Often 
and  tenderly  he  uses  that  conciliating 
word  brethren,  and  then  he  calls  upon 
them,  by  the  high  and  sacred  names 
of  Christ  and  the  Spirit,  to  use  inter- 
cessory prayer  in  his  behalf  that  he 
might  be  exempted  from  dangers. 
Col.  iv.  12.  Paul  had  two  causes  of 
anxiety,  two  subjects  for  prayer,  one 
without  the  Church  and  one  within, 
one  lest  the  unbelieving  Jews  would 


XV. 


TO  THE  KOMANS. 


223 


32  may  be  accepted  of  the  saints ;  that  I  may  come  unto  you  with  joy 

33  by  the  will  of  God,  and  may  with  you  be  refreshed.     Now  the 
God  of  peace  he  with  you  all.     Amen. 


make  trouble,  which  they  afterwards 
did,  and  the  other  lest  the  contribu- 
tion from  the  foreign  Gentiles  would 
not  be  acceptable  to  the  native  Jew- 
i^li  party  in  the  Church.  Of  the  re- 
sult in  the  latter  case,  we  have  no  in- 
lonnation  ;  but  as  it  regarded  the  for- 
mer, we  know  that  the  sad  presenti- 
ments and  anticipations  of  the  Apos- 
tle were  fulfilled.  As  Olshausen  re- 
marks, "  The  knowledge  of  the  Divine 
plans  was  not  in  St.  Paul  of  a  fatalis- 
tic nature  ;  he  does  not  say,  —  I  know 
tliat  1  must  surely  go  to  Rome,  and 
therefore  I  have  no  need  of  any  pre- 
caution or  of  any  intercession  ;  rather 
it  was  a  lively,  free  accpiaintance  with 
the  plans  of  the  free  personal  God, 
which  are  fulfilled  through  the  Avork- 
ing  together  of  the  free  action  of  free 
beings." 

33.  The  world  was  dark  and  frown- 
ing, fears  within  and  fightings  with- 
out ;  but  how  beautiful  is  the  invoca- 
tion of  peace  through  the  God  of 
peace !  These  gleams  of  sunshine 
give  rehef  to  the  otherwise  sombre 
picture  of  labor,  and  dangerous 
travel,  and  savage  elements  and 
more  savage  men,  and  persecution, 
and  all  manner  of  suffering  and  trial, 
for  they  show  the  comparative  quiet 
of  the  heart,  the  steady  and  assured 
centre  of  faith,  however  the  world 
might  rock  and  reel.  —  According 
to  the  best  critics  Amen  is  not  gen- 


The  Apostle  here  concludes  the 
ethical,  as  he  had  ended  at  chap.  xiii. 
36  the  doctrinal  part  of  his  letter. 


The  fornier  is  based  upon  the  latter, 
and  the  natural  connection  between 
the  two  is  that  of  cause  and  effect. 
The  doctrine  was  weighty,  and  the 
inference  was  all-important.  If  faith 
is  the  doctrine,  the  inference  is  a 
good  life,  so  that  faith-righteousness 
comprehends  both  parts  of  the  Epistle. 
There  may  be  particular  passages  in 
doubt,  but  the  general  aim  is  clear, 
broad,  and  irresistible.  A  closer 
chain  of  reasoning  never  was  welded 
together,  nor  was  there  ever  one 
where  the  heat  and  fire  still  kindle 
and  burn  along  the  line,  as  with  the 
original  zeal  of  the  writer.  Kings 
and  kingdoms  may  rise  and  fall,  but 
these  great  themes  of  truth,  faith, 
duty,  love,  hope,  and  destiny  will 
never  cease  to  awe  and  entrance  the 
human  bosom.  They  are  ever  abreast 
of  the  times,  and  no  withering  blasts 
of  age  have  passed  over  the  eighth 
chapter  of  Romans  or  the  fifteenth 
chapter  of  the  First  of  Corinthians. 
Would  indeed  that  we  might  be  even 
with  these  high  recpiisitions,  and  that 
we  might  be  as  good  Christians  in  the 
nineteenth  as  Paul  was  in  the  first 
century  of  the  era  of  our  Lord,  as 
ardent  advocates  of  liberty,  as  stren- 
uous defenders  of  truth,  as  elocpient 
expounders  of  faith,  as  beautiful  teach- 
ers and  learners  and  doers  of  charity, 
gentleness,  and  peace !  But  until 
this  is  the  case,  let  us  learn  the  noble 
lessons  of  the  Apostle's  truth,  and 
foUow  the  advice  of  his  practical 
exhortations,  and  catch  the  inspira- 
tion of  liis  liigh-toned  and  wonder- 
ful hfe ! 


224 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Friendly  Salutations  and  Messages  to  the  Christians  at  Rome,  from  Paul  and  his 
Brethren  at  Corinth.  —  Benediction  and  Doxology. 

I  COMMEND  unto  you  Phebe,  our  sister,  which  is  a  servant  of  the 
church  which  is  at  Cenchrea :  that  ye  receive  her  in  the  Lord,  as  2 
becometh  saints,  and  that  ye  assist  her  in  whatsoever  business  she 
hath  need  of  you :  for  she  hath  been  a  succorer  of  many,  and  of 
myself  also.     Greet  Priscilla  and  Aquila,  my  helpers  in  Christ  3 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

This  concluding  chapter  of  the 
Epistle  is  composed  of  salutations 
and  Christian  greetings,  conceived  in 
the  kindliest  spirit  of  Christian  love, 
and  graciously  expressed.  The  dis- 
cussion of  general  principles  did  not 
lead  the  author  to  forget  that  man- 
kind were  made  up  of  individuals, 
each  with  a  heart  to  feel  and  an  im- 
mortal soul  to  be  saved.  With  a 
bold  and  free  hand  he  sowed  his 
pages  thickly  with  names,  facts,  and 
events,  conscious  of  honest  purposes, 
and  exempt  from  all  fears  of  being 
detected  in  any  forgery.  Several  in- 
cidental and  undesigned  coincidences 
have  been  pointed  out  by  Paley  and 
olRer  writers  on  the  evidences  of 
^Christianity,  showing  the  honest  rec- 
ord of  the  Epistle,  and  vindicating 
its  authenticity.  No  man  whose 
heart  Avas  not  as  clear  as  crystal 
would  thus  multiply  against  himself 
the  means  of  his  own  detection ;  and 
the  facts  that  his  statements  remained 
undisputed  at  the  time,  and  that  they 
have  been  credited  since  without  any 
material  implication  against  them, 
even  by  the  most  virulent  opponents 
to  Christianity,  give  us  the  strongest 
presumption  of  their  truth. 

1,_  2.  Phehe,  our  sister,  &c.  On  the 
Christian  principle,  that  "  whosoever 
shall  do  the  will  of  my  Father  which 
is  in  heaven,  the  same  is  my  brother, 
and  sister,  and  mother."  Phebe  was 
a  servant,  or  deaconess,  of  the  church 


in  Cenchrea,  an  officer  rendered 
necessary  in  those  times  by  the  pecu- 
liar customs  of  society  in  which  the 
Gospel  was  planted.  The  care  of 
the  sick,  the  disbursement  of  charities, 
the  instruction  of  catechumens,  and 
the  rite  of  baptism,  required  female 
service  in  some  cases.  Probably  the 
person  in  question  was  a  woman  of 
wealth  and  influence,  and  had  such 
aifairs  to  require  her  presence  at 
Rome  as  could  be  materially  aided 
by  the  cooperation  of  Christian 
friends  there.  Cenchrea  was  the 
port  of  Corinth  on  the  iEgean  Sea 
towards  Asia  Minor,  as  Lechea  or 
Lechaeus  was  that  on  the  Ionian  Sea 
towards  the  west.  That  Paul  had 
been  in  the  place  before  is  evident 
from  Acts  xviii.  18,  and  he  speaks 
warmly  of  the  aid  he  had  received 
from  her.  Paul  requests  them  to 
welcome  her  in  a  Christian  manner, 
for  hospitality  was  a  great  and  essen- 
tial virtue  at  a  period  when  the 
Christians  were  exposed  to  the  scorn 
and  persecution  of  those  to  whom 
they  went  forth  as  heralds  and 
preachers  of  salvation. — A  succorer, 
&c.  A  patroness,  curatrix.  Females 
also  rendered  essential  service  to  our 
blessed  Lord  by  contributing  aid  to 
his  necessities,  and  they  have  ever 
been  among  the  most  devoted  friends 
and  co-laborers  of  the  Christian  min- 
istry in  every  age.  As  Christianity 
has  done  much  for  woman,  so  has 
woman  done  much  for  Christianity. 
3.  Priscilla.     Griesbach  and  Tis- 


XVI.] 


TO  THE  EOMANS. 


225 


4  Jesus :  who  have  for  my  life  laid  down  their  own  necks :  unto 
whom  not  only  I  give  thanks,  but  also  all  the  churches  of  the 

5  Gentiles.      Likewise   greet  the   church   that   is   in   their   house. 
Salute  my  well-beloved  Epenetus,  who  is  the  first-fruits  of  Achaia 

6  unto   Christ.      Greet  Mary,   who    bestowed   much   labor  on  us. 


chendorf  read  Prisca,  of  which  Pris- 
cilla  is  the  diminutive.  The  mention 
of  her  before  that  of  her  husband  has 
been  argued  by  some  to  indicate  her 
prominence  of  position  and  character, 
even  when  compared  with  her  dis- 
tinguished companion.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  objections  which  have  some- 
times been  uttered  against  the  Apos- 
tle, as  not  assigning  a  sufhciently 
broad  sphere  to  woman,  or  giving  her 
an  equal  social  or  ecclesiastical  posi- 
tion with  that  of  the  other  sex,  yet 
where  do  we  find  in  ancient  litera- 
ture a  more  considerate  respect  paid 
to  woman  than  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment ?  and  who  has  diginified  woman 
with  a  more  cordial  regard,  or  a  truer 
spiritual  ecjuaUty,  than  the  author  of 
this  Epistle  ? 

4.  Who  have  for  rmj  life^  &c.  The 
transactions  here  referred  to  probably 
occurred  at  Ephesus,  as  related  in 
Acts  xix.  23-41,  for  it  appears  from 
Acts  xviii.  18-26,  that  they  accom- 
panied him  thither  from  Corinth. 
The  expression  implies  that  they  ex- 
posed themselves  to  imminent  peril, 
hazarded  their  lives  for  him.  1  Cor. 
xvi.  19  ;  2  Tim.  iv.  19.  The  more 
gratitude  was  probably  felt  towards 
them,  because,  being  Jews,  they  had 
espoused  the  cause  of  the  Gentiles  in 
the  great  controversy  relating  to  their 
admission  into  the  Christian  Church 
without  adopting  Jewish  customs. 

5.  The  church  that  is  in  their  house. 
In  their  generous  behavior  they  had 
made  their  own  dwelling  a  place  of 
the  meeting  of  the  Christian  Church. 
—  First-fruits  of  Achaia  unto  Christ. 
The  best  editions  read  Asia,  by  which 
is  meant  Proconsular  Asia,  or  Asia  of 


which  Ephesus  was  the  capital.  The 
epithets  of  endearment  and  kindly 
regard  with  which  Paul  greets  the 
brethren  testify  how  far  Christianity 
in  his  soul  was  removed  from  a  stoical 
insensibiHty,  and  how  v/armly  it  em- 
braced in  the  arms  of  an  ovei'flowing 
charity  all  who  had  named  the  name 
of  Christ.  It  seems  as  if  the  heart  of 
the  Apostle  could  not  satisfy  itself 
with  loving  enough,  but  he  poured 
forth  expressions  of  love  and  bound- 
less benevolence.  One  is  "  well  be- 
loved," another  is  "  beloved  in  the 
Lord,"  another  is  "my  beloved," 
another  is  "  my  kinsman,"  and  "  work- 
fellow,"  "  helper,"  "  host,"  "  brother, 
sister,  mother."  All  these  expres- 
sions are  used  to  describe  his  affec- 
tionate attachment.  The  difierence 
between  the  Gospel  and  heathenism 
is  quickly  felt  when  we  compare  a 
letter  of  Cicero  with  a  letter  of  Paul 
in  this  respect.  1  Cor.  vi.  15.  As  a 
very  good  evidence  that  Peter  was 
not  in  Rome  at  this  time,  and  that  in 
fact  he  had  not  been  there  up  to  this 
time,  it  is  noticeable  that  no  mention 
whatever  is  made  of  him  by  Paul,  in 
writing  to  the  very  church  which  has 
since  been  specially  connected  with 
his  name,  and  from  which  Paul,  who 
seems  to  have  had  more  to  do  with  it 
than  Peter,  has  been  strangely  dis- 
severed in  ecclesiastical  tradition  and 
history. 

6-11.  Mary.  Nothing  further  is 
known  of  her,  except  this  high  eulo- 
gium,  of  which  it  may  be  said,  as  of 
the  noble  deed  of  another  Mary, 
"  Wheresoever  this  Gospel  shall  be 
preached  throughout  the  whole  world, 
this  also  that  she  hath  done  shall  be 


226 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


Salute  Aiidronicus  and  Junia,  my  kinsmen  and  mj  fellow-prison-   7 
ers,  who  are  of  note  among  the  apostles,  who  also  were  in  Chi-ist 
before  me.      Greet  Amphas,  my  beloved  in   the  Lord.      Salute   9 
Urbane,  our  helper  in  Christ,  and  Stachys,  my  beloved.     Salute  10 
Apelles,  approved  in  Christ.     Salute  them  which  are  of  Aristobu- 
lus's  houseJiold.     Salute  Herodion,  my  kinsman.     Greet  them  that  11 
be  of  the  household  of  Narcissus,  which  are  in  the  Lord.     Salute  12 
Tryphena  and  Try]^)hosa,  who  labor  in  the  Lord.     Salute  the  be- 
loved Persis,  which  labored  much  in  the  Lord.      Salute  Rufus,  13 
chosen  in  the  Lord,  and  his  mother  and  mine.     Salute  Asyncritus,  14 
Phlegon,  Hermas,  Patrobas,  Hermes,  and  the  brethi^en  which  are 
with  them.     Salute  Philologus   and  Juha,  Nereus  and  his  sister,  15 
and  Olympas,  and  all  the  saints  which  are  with  them.     Salute  one  le 
another  with  a  holy  kiss.     The   churches   of  Christ  salute  you. 


spoken  of  for  a  memorial  of  her."  — 
Andronicus  and  Junia.  They  are 
supposed  to  be  husband  and  wife,  but 
what  was  their  degree  of  kinship  to 
Paul,  and  what  were  the  circum- 
stances in  which  they  were  fellow- 
prisoners  with  him,  are  now  matters 
buried  in  obHvion.  The  term  Ajjos- 
tles  is  here  used,  not  in  its  strictness, 
but  in  general  for  preachers  of  Chris- 
tianity. Acts  xiv.  4,  14.  The  fact, 
worthy  of  note,  is  mentioned,  that 
they  were  earlier  converts  to  the 
Gospel  than  Paul.  —  The  names  of 
Amplias^  Urhane^  Stachys^  Apelles, 
Aristobidus,  and  Herodion  stand  not 
merely  as  honorable  words  in  this 
catalogue  of  the  saints,  but  they 
furnish  a  suggestive  hint  of  the  great 
body  of  Christian  worth  and  holy 
character  which  has  passed  away 
and  left  no  sign ;  the  humble  disci- 
ples, who  have  contributed  their  part 
to  the  strength  of  the  Christian  body, 
and  whose  virtues  have  gone  to  make 
up  a  share  in  the  grand  whole  of 
the  Church,  and  its  sanctification  in 
the  world.  —  HouseJiold  of  JVarcissus. 
There  was  a  freedman  of  that  name 
in  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Claudius, 


but  he  was  not  living  at  this  time. 
It  may  have  been  his  family,  however, 
or  friends,  who  are  spoken  of  in  this 
connection. 

12-16.  Of  Tryphena,  Trypliosa, 
Persis,  only  the  names  and  the  praise 
of  Paul  remain.  But  Rufus  is  sup- 
posed by  some  to  be  the  brother  of 
Alexander,  and  the  son  of  Simon  the 
Cyrenean,  Markxv.  21 ;  but  the  con- 
nection is  altogether  uncertain. — 
Hermas  is  conjectured  to  be  the 
author  of  one  of  the  early  Christian 
works  called  "  The  Shepherd,"  con- 
tained in  a  collection  termed  the 
Apocryphal  Kew  Testament.  —  Holy 
kiss.  In  the  fervors  of  the  Church  at 
the  beginning,  this  sign  was  used  as 
the  natural  expression  of  the  frater- 
nal and  sisterly  affection  of  the  mem- 
bers for  one  another ;  but  when  it 
gave  rise  to  unjust  imputations,  and 
created  scandal  against  the  disciples, 
it  was  dropped.  It  is  said  to  have 
been  most  used  after  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Supper.  1  Peter 
V.  14.  —  The  churches  of  Clirist. 
Paul  could  speak  for  at  least  two,  for 
one  was  estabHshed  at  Corinth  and 
another  at  Cenchrea.     The  best  re- 


JCVI.l 


TO   THE  KOMANS. 


227 


17  Now  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  mark  them  which  cause  divisions 
and  offences  contrary  to  the  doctrme  which  ye  have  learned ;  and 

18  avoid  them.  For  they  that  are  such  serve  not  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  but  their  own  belly ;  and  by  good  words  and  fair  speeches 

19  deceive  the  hearts  of  the  simple.  For  your  obedience  is  come 
abroad  unto  all  men.  I  am  glad  therefore  on  your  behalf:  but  yet 
I  would  have  you  wise  unto  that  which  is  good,  and  simple  concern- 

20  ing  evil.  And  the  God  of  peace  shall  bruise  Satan  under  your 
feet  shortly.     The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  he  with  you. 


vised  editions  read  all  the  cliurclies. 
It  is  a  powerful  testimony  to  the  life 
and  deep  earnestness  of  the  Chris- 
tian cause  at  this  period,  that  the 
ti'uth  was  not  only  theoretically  be- 
heved,  but  that  Christian  love  was 
practically  cultivated  and  shed  abroad 
throughout  the  rising  communities  of 
the  disciples,  and  the  great  hearts 
which  beat  at  the  centre  of  the  move- 
ment were  felt  in  their  pulsations  to 
the  humblest  and  remotest  limbs  of 
the  body  of  Christ. 

17-20.  This  paragraph  is  a  last 
caution,  a  kind  of  postscript  added  to 
what  he  had  said  before  against  dis- 
sensions, which  he  was  so  anxious  to 
extirpate  from  the  early  Church,  and 
which  warred  so  directly  at  every 
point  with  the  truth  and  love  in 
Jesus.  The  particular  point  of  de- 
bate was  the  Gentile  controversy, 
but  it  ramified  into  various  side  is- 
sues, and  gave  broad  scope  to  many 
of  the  selfish  propensities  of  human 
nature.  It  was  sufficiently  apparent 
to  the  clear  discernment  of  Paul,  that 
there  were  men  enough  disposed  to 
make  "  a  gain  of  godliness,"  and  who, 
under  all  their  seeming  zeal  for  Christ 
and  his  Church,  cloaked  the  unholy 
purposes  of  self-aggrandizement,  and 
deceived  the  world  with  fair  profes- 
sions and  the  counterfeits  of  zeal  and 
truth,  passed,  among  the  unsophisti- 
cated, as  current  coin.  Pliil.  iii.  2, 
18,  19;  Tit.  iii.  10;  2  Pet.  ii.  3,  18. 
But,   notwithstanding  the   perils  of 


"false  brethren,"  the  Apostle  ex- 
pressed an  undoubting  confidence 
in  the  firmness  of  the  Church  at 
home  to  resist  all  these  seductions, 
and  complimented  them  on  their 
well-known  obedience  or  tractable- 
ness.  He  was  too  wise  a  moralist  not 
to  know  that  praise  will  often  go  fur- 
ther than  blame,  and  that  an  encour- 
agement of  success  will  reach  places 
in  the  human  heart  wliich  could  not 
be  touched  by  the  severe  hand  of  cen- 
sure.—  In  the  expression  luise  unto 
that  which  is  good,  and  simple  concern- 
ing evil,  reference  is  apparently  made 
to  Matt.  X.  16.  —  Simple,  unsuspicious, 
with  a  single  eye.  Matt.  vi.  22. — 
There  was  special  appositeness  in  the 
term  God  of  peace,  as  it  was  "  dissen- 
sions "  against  which  he  was  warning 
the  Christians  at  Rome  in  this  very 
connection.  —  In  the  term  bruise  Sa- 
tan, perhaps  Gen.  iii.  15  was  in  the 
writer's  mind.  The  word  Satan  is  an 
Orientalism  for  evil,  evil  accuser,  and, 
like  AVisdom,  Sin,  the  Law,  the  Word, 
and  other  terms,  when  personified,  it 
is  employed  to  give  vivacity  to  the 
idea  of  the  activity  and  danger  of 
evil. —  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  &c.  Paul  can  never  -svish 
enough  benedictions  upon  the  heads 
of  his  brethren,  but  he  repeats,  adds 
postscript  after  postscript,  and  can 
scarcely  tear  himself  away  at  last 
from  so  attractive  and  absorbing  a 
theme.  These  successive  enchngs, 
which  occur  one  after  another,  xv. 


228 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL 


[Chap. 


Amen.     Timotlieus,  my  work-fellow,  and  Lucius,  and  Jason,  and  21 
Sosipater,  my  kinsmen,  salute  you.    I,  Tertius,  who  wrote  this  Epis-  22 
tie,  salute  you  in  the  Lord.     Gaius,  mine  host,  and  of  the  whole  23 
church,  saluteth  you.    Erastus,  the  chamberlain  of  the  city,  saluteth 
you,  and  Quartus,  a  brother.     The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  24 
he  with  you  all.     Amen.     Now  to  him  that  is  of  power  to  estabhsh  25 
you  according  to  my  Gospel,  and  the  preaching  of  Jesus  Christ, 
according  to  the  revelation  of  the  mystery,  which  was  kept  secret 
since  the  world  began,  but  now  is  made  manifest,  and  by  the  Scrip-  26 


83,  xvi.  16,  20,  24,  27,  are  so  many 
stumbling-blocks  to  the  critics,  who 
attempt  to  systematize  everything  ac- 
cording to  a  set  rule  of  their  own. 
But  are  they  not  very  much  in  uni- 
son with  the  free-working  and  irreg- 
ular form  of  Paul's  composition  ?  — 
Amen,  in  ver.  20,  is  omitted  by  the 
best  editors. 

21.  Timothem ;  i.  e.  Timothy,  to 
whom  the  Epistles  were  addressed. 
Acts  xvi.  1,  2.  —  Lucius.  Thought 
by  many  to  be  Luke  the  Evangelist, 
the  well-known  companion  of  Paul  in 
many  of  his  journeys.  AVe  learn 
from  Acts  xx.  4,  that  three  of  these 
individuals,  namely,  Sosipater,  Gaius, 
and  Timothy,  accompanied  Paul  into 
Asia  Minor.  The  Sopater  of  Acts 
XX.  4  and  the  Sosipater  of  this  pas- 
sage are  probably  the  same. 

22.  Tertius.  Paul's  amanuensis. 
The  name  is  a  Latin  word  meaning 
"  the  third."  The  Apostle  was  ac- 
customed to  employ  a  writer,  and  it 
has  been  conjectured  that  some  of 
the  breaks  in  his  sentences,  and  some 
of  the  irregularities  of  his  style,  are 
to  be  attributed  to  this  fact.  But  he 
was  accustomed  to  add  his  own  auto- 
graph to  his  Epistles  as  an  indorse- 
ment of  their  contents.  1  Cor.  xvi. 
21 ;  Gal  vi.  11 ;  Col.  iv.  18  ;  2  Thess. 
iii.  17.  We  have  here  a  beautiful 
exemplification  of  the  equahty  and 
fraternity  on  which  the  Gospel  places 
man  with  man,  in  the  fact  that  the 
amanuensis  salutes  the  churches  as 


well  as  the  Apostle,  and  that  his  soul 
and  soul's  salvation  are  counted  of 
like  value  with  those  of  the  chiefest 
of  the  Church. 

23,  24.  Gains.  Whether  Gaius  of 
Derbe,  mentioned  in  Acts  xix.  29, 
XX.  4,  is  the  same,  cannot  now  be  de- 
termined, but  it  is  quite  Hkely.  1 
Cor.  i.  14  ;  3  John  1.  —  Erastus,  tJie 
cJiairiberlain  oftlie  city;  that  is,  prob- 
ably, of  Corinth.  By  chamberlain  is 
meant  treasurer,  manager  of  the  city 
funds,  or,  in  the  Roman  designation, 
qusestor.  He  is  mentioned  elsewhere, 
Acts.  xix.  22;  2  Tun.  iv.  20.—  The 
grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  &c. 
This  is  a  prayer  or  benediction,  sim- 
ply implying  the  best  wishes  of  the 
Apostle  for  the  spiritual  and  Christian 
good  of  his  converts  and  brethren. 
It  is  perfectly  proper  for  one  who  is 
not  a  behever  in  the  deity  of  Jesus 
Christ  to  use  such  a  form  of  expres- 
sion, as  it  was  for  Paul  to  commend 
his  hearers  "  to  God,  and  to  the  word 
of  his  grace,"  though  the  word  of  his 
grace  is  not  even  a  person,  much  less 
God. —  GVace  has  a  peculiar  techni- 
cal signification  in  our  tongue,  and 
the  original  would  be  better  trans- 
lated \yy  favor. 

25-27.  A  prolonged  and  sublime 
doxology  concludes  the  Epistle,  in 
which  the  chief  features  of  the  whole 
subject  of  the  work  are  sketched. 
God,  as  the  original  and  everlasting 
author  of  Eevelation  ;  its  purpose  in 
his  will  and  commandment;  its  incep- 


XVI.] 


TO  THE  ROMANS. 


229 


i  tures  of  the  prophets,  according  to  the  commandment  of  the  ever- 
lasting God,  made  known  to  all  nations  for  the  obedience  of  faith : 

27  to  God  only  wise,  he  glory  through  Jesus  Christ,  for  ever. 
Amen. 

Written  to  the  Romans  from  Corinthus,  and  sent  by  Phebe,  servant  of 
the  church  at  Cenchrea. 


tion  by  the  prophets ;  its  full  promul- 
gation ;  and  its  mystery,  or  secret,  of 
the  admission  of  the  Gentiles,  entirely 
laid  open  by  the  mission  and  preach- 
ing of  Christ ;  its  comprehension  of 
men  of  all  nations,  Jews  as  well  as 
Gentiles,  in  its  benevolent  plan,  and 
the  aim  and  end  of  the  whole  system 
in  the  "  obedience  of  faith,"  or  faith- 
righteousness,  character  founded  on 
a  spiritual  principle, — are  all  set  forth 
in  these  few  words  with  a  remarkable 
terseness  and  power ;  and  the  assur- 
ance is  given  that  he  who  had  thus 
begun  a  good  work  in  them  would 
not  suffer  it  to  fail,  but  would  estab- 
lish them  according  to  the  Gospel. 
Eph.  iii.  9,  10 ;  Col.  i.  26  ;  2  Tun.  i. 
10.  By  the  term  "  obedience  of 
faith"  is  concisely  expressed  the 
whole  subject  of  this  Epistle ;  not 
justification  by  faith,  —  that  idea  only 
partially  covers  the  ground ;  but  right- 
eousness by  faith,  obedience  to  all 
the  laws  of  God  by  the  motive-power 
of  faith,  not  by  that  of  wisdom,  as 
among  the  Greeks,  or  by  that  of  law, 
as  among  the  Jews.  Christianity 
opened  heaven,  brought  God  nigh  to 
man,  and  introduced  as  acting  agen- 
cies upon  the  life  of  to-day  the 
boundless  hopes,  promises,  and  warn- 


ings of  the  future  state  of  being.  In 
depth,  permanence,  and  consistency, 
the  obedience  of  faith,  therefore,  must 
possess  a  marked  superiority  over  all 
other  codes  of  morals  or  systems  of 
religion.  The  Gospel  reaches  the 
ultimate  point,  and  leaves  nothing  on 
this  side  of  the  eternal  world,  capable 
of  being  used  as  a  legitimate  motive 
to  righteousness  of  life,  which  it  does 
not  enhst  in  its  sacred  and  all-com- 
prehending cause.  It  wiU  be  ob- 
served, that  the  ascription  of  glory  is 
not  given  by  Paul  to  Jesus  Christ,  as 
we  hear  it  in  these  days  in  many 
churches  which  have  wandered  from 
the  simplicity  of  the  early  Gospel 
usages,  but  to  God  through  Jesus 
Christ.  1  Tim.  i.  17.  For  "he  is  the 
Medium,  Mediator,  through  whom 
our  blessings  have  descended,  and 
through  whom  our  prayers  should 
ascend. 

The  inscription  at  the  close  is,  no 
doubt,  a  true  description  of  the  title 
of  the  Epistle,  the  place  where  it  was 
composed,  and  the  person  by  whom 
it  was  conveyed  to  Rome ;  but  it  is 
rejected  by  the  best  editors  as  not  be- 
longing to  the  original,  but  as  being 
added  by  a  later  hand. 


The  Epistle  at  whose  conclusion 
we  have  now  arrived  contains  some 
of  the  most  difficult  passages  to  under- 
stand in  all  the  Scriptures.  But  for 
strength  of  argument,  for  earnest 
grappling  with  the  highest  themes  of 
20 


reHgious  faith,  for  bold  and  impas- 
sioned eloquence,  for  burning  zeal, 
for  beauty  of  imagination,  and  for 
glowing  love,  where  can  we  find  any 
work  superior  to  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans?     The  few  dark   spots   on 


230  THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  TO  THE  KOMANS. 

tlie  splendid  disc  of  this  orb  of  light  be  its  cbarity,  the  more  uncompro- 

we  can  well  pardon,  for  the  immeas-  mising  its  liberty.     Its  divine  verses 

urable  light  and  warmth  of  its  efful-  have  not  grown  dead  and  cold   by 

gence.    The  more  deeply  it  is  studied,  time,  but  they  still  meet  the  religious 

the  more  consecutive  will  its  train  of  wants  of  the  heart,  and  preach  the 

reasoning  be  found  to  be  ;   and  the  fiospel  to  all  ages  in  its  freshness  and 

more  fully  its  comprehensive  spirit  is  its  power.    May  we  receive,  beheve, 

felt,  the  more  fervent  will  be  seen  to  and  obey  them ! 


REVISED     TRANSLATION 


OP 


THE   EPISTLE   TO   THE   EOMANS, 


THE 

EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  TO  THE  TIOMANS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Paul,  a  servant  of  Christ  Jesus,  chosen  as  an  Apostle,  set  apart 
2  for  the  Gospel  of  God,  which  he  had  promised  before  by  his 
s  prophets  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  concerning  his   Son,  who  was 

4  born  of  the  seed  of  David  according  to  the  flesh,  who  was  declared 
the  Son  of  God  with  power  according  to  the  spirit  of  hoHness  by 

5  the  resurrection  from  the  dead,  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  through 
whom  we  have  received  grace  and  apostleship  for  obedience  to  the 

6  faith  in  all  nations  for  his  name's  sake,  among  whom  are  ye  also 

7  the  chosen  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  all  who  are  in  Rome,  beloved  of  God, 
chosen  to  be  saints,  grace  and  peace  to  you  from  God  our  Father 
and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

8  First,  I  thank  my  God  through  Jesus  Christ  for  you  all,  that 

9  your  faithfulness  is  spoken  of  throughout  the  whole  world.  For 
God  is  my  witness  whom  I  serve  with  my  spirit  in  the  Gospel  of 

10  his  Son,  that  without  ceasing  I  make  mention  of  you,  always  mak- 
ing supplication  in  my  prayers,  that  if  possible  I  might  now  at 
length,  God  willing,  make  a  prosperous  journey  to  come  unto  you. 

11  For  I  long  to  see  you,  that  I  may  impart  unto  you  some  spiritual 

12  gift,  in  order  that  you  may  be  strengthened ;  that  is,  that  I  may 
be  comforted  among  you  by  the  mutual  faith  both  of  you  and  me. 

13  But  I  would  not  have  you  ignorant,  brethren,  that  I  have  often 
purposed  to  come  to  you,  though  I  have  hitherto  been  prevented, 
in  order  that  I  might  have  some  fruit  among  you  also  as  among 

14  other  Gentiles.  I  am  debtor  both  to  the  Greeks  and  to  the  Bar- 
is  barians,  both  to  the  wise  and  to  the  unwise ;  so,  as  much  as  in  me 
16  is,  I  am  ready  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  you  also  at  Rome.     For  I 

am  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel ;  for  it  is  the  power  of  God  unto 

20* 


234  THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  [Chap. 

salvation  to  every  believer,  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also  to  the  Greek. 
For  therein  is  the  righteousness  of  God  revealed  from  faith  to  17 
faith  ;  as  it  is  written.  The  just  by  faith  shall  live. 

For  the  indignation  of  God  is  revealed  from  heaven  against  all  is 
ungodliness  and  unrighteousness  of  men,  holding  the  truth  in  un- 
righteousness ;  because  that  which  may  be  known  of  God  is  mani-  19 
fest  to  them,  for  God  hath  showed  it  to  them.     For  the  invisible  ao 
things  of  him,  even  his  eternal  power  and  Godhead,  from  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the  things 
made,  so  that  they  are  without  excuse :  because  that  when  they  21 
knew  God,  they  glorified  him  not  as  God,  neither  were  thankful, 
but  became  vain  in  their  imaginations,  and  their  foolish  heart  was 
darkened.     Professing  themselves  to  be  wise,  they  became  fools,  22 
and  changed  the  glory  of  the  incorruptible  God  into  an  image  hke  23 
unto  corruptible    man   and   birds  and    quadrupeds    and   reptiles. 
Wherefore  God  gave  them  up,  through  the  lusts  of  their  hearts  to  24 
impurity,  to  dishonor  their  own  bodies  among  themselves  :    who  25 
exchanged  the  truth  of  God  for  a  lie,  and  worshipped  and  served 
the  creature  rather  than  the   Creator,  who  is  blessed  for  ever. 
Amen.     On  this  account  God  gave  them  up  to  vile  affections,  for  20 
even  their  women  exchanged  the  natural  use  for  that  which  is 
against  nature  ;  and  likewise  also  the  men,  leaving  the  natural  use  27 
of  the  woman,  burned  in  their  lust  one  toward  another,  men  with 
men  working  that  which  is  unseemly,  and  receiving  in  themselves 
the  due  recompense  of  their  error.     And  inasmuch  as  they  did  not  2s 
like  to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge,  God  gave  them  over  to  a 
reprobate  mind  to  do  those  things  which  are  not  becoming  ;  being  29 
filled  with  all  unrighteousness,  wickedness,  covetousness,  malicious- 
ness ;  full  of  envy,  murder,  contention,  deceit,  malevolence  ;  whis- 
perers,  slanderers,   haters   of   God,   despiteful,    proud,    boasters,  30 
inventors  of  evil  things,  disobedient  to  parents,  without  understand-  31 
ing,  covenant-breakers,  without  natural  affection,  implacable,  cruel ; 
who  knowing  the  judgment  of  God,  that  they  who  commit  such  32 
things  are  worthy  of  death,  not  only  do  the  same,  but  take  pleasure 
in  them  that  do  them. 


n.]  TO   THE  EOMANS.  235 

CHAPTER    11. 

Wherefore  thou  art  inexcusable,  O  man,  wliosoever  tliou  art 
that  judgest :  for  wherein  thou  judgest  another,  thou  condemnest 

2  thyself;  for  thou  that  judgest  doest  the  same  things.  But  we 
know  that  the  judgment  of  God  is  according  to  truth  against  them 

3  who  commit  such  things.  And  thinkest  thou  this,  O  man,  that 
judgest  them  who  do  such  things,  and  doest  the  same,  that  thou 

4  shalt  escape  the  judgment  of  God  ?  Or  despisest  thou  the  riches 
of  his  goodness  and  forbearance  and  long-suffering,  not  considering 

6  that  the  goodness  of  God  leadeth  thee  to  repentance  ?  But  after 
thj  hardness  and  impenitent  heart  treasurest  up  unto  thyself  wrath 
against  the  day  of  wrath  and  revelation  of  the  righteous  judgment 

6  of  God ;  who  will  render  to  every  man  according  to  his  deeds : 

7  to  them  who,  by  patient  continuance  in  well-doing,  seek  for  glory 

8  and  honor  and  immortality,  eternal  life ;  but  unto  them  that  are 
contentious,  and  do  not  obey  the  truth,  but  obey  unrighteousness, 

9  wrath  and  indignation,  tribulation  and  anguish  upon  every  soul  of 
man  that  worketh  evil ;  of  the  Jew  first,  and  also  of  the  Gentile ; 

10  but  glory,  honor,  and  peace  to  every  man  that  doeth  good ;  to  the 

11  Jew  first,  and  also  to  the  Gentile  :  for  there  is  no  respect  of  per- 
sons with  God. 

12  For  as  many  as  have  sinned  without  law,  shall  also  perish  with- 
out law  ;  and  as  many  as  have  sinned  in  the  law  shall  be  judged 

13  by  the  law  ;  (for  not  the  hearers  of  the  law  are  just  before  God, 

14  but  the  doers  of  the  law  shall  be  made  just ;  for  when  the  Gen- 
tiles, who  have  not  the  law,  do  by  nature  the  things  contained  in 
the  law,  they,  having  not  the  law,  become  a  law  unto  themselves ; 

15  who  show  the  working  of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts,  their 
conscience  bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts  alternately  accusing 

16  or  else  excusing  one  another;)  in  the  day  when  God  shall  judge 

17  the  secrets  of  men  by  Jesus  Christ  according  to  my  Gospel.  But 
if  thou  art  called  a  Jew  and  restest  in  the  law  and  makest  thy 

16  boast  of  God  and  knowest  his  will  and  approvest  the  things  that 

19  are  more  excellent,  being  instructed  out  of  the  law  ;  and  art  confi- 
i^ent  that  thou  thyself  art  a  guide  of  the  blind,  a  light  of  them  who 

20  are  in  darkness,  an  instructor  of  the  foolish,  a  teacher  of  babes, 


236  THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  [Chap. 

who  hast  the  form  of  knowledge  and  of  the  truth  in  the  law :  — 
thou,  therefore,  who  teachest  another,  teachest  thou  not  thyself?  21 
thou  who  preachest  a  man  should  not  steal,  dost  thou  steal  ?  thou  22 
who  sayest  a  man  should  not  commit  adultery,  dost  thou  commit 
adultery  ?  thou  who  abhorrest  idols,  dost  thou  commit  sacrilege  ? 
thou  who  makest  thy  boast  of  the  law,  by  breaking  the  law  dishon-  23 
orest  thou  God  ?     For  the  name  of  God  is  blasphemed  among  the  24 
Gentiles  through  you,  as  it  is  written.     For  circumcision  indeed  25 
profiteth,  if  thou  keep  the  law  ;  but  if  thou  be  a  breaker  of  the  law, 
thy  circumcision  becomes  uncircumcision.     If,  therefore,  the  uncir-  26 
cumcision  keep  the  righteousness  of  the  law,  shall  not  his  uncir- 
cumcision be  accounted  as  circumcision  ?     And  shall  not  uncir-  27 
cumcision  which  is  by  nature,  if  it  fulfil  the  law,  judge  thee,  who 
by  the  letter  and  circumcision  dost  transgress  the  law  ?     For  he  is  28 
not  a  Jew  who  is  one   outwardly ;  neither  is  that  circumcision 
which  is  outward  in  the  flesh  :  but  he  is  a  Jew  who  is  one  inward-  29 
ly  ;  and  circumcision  is  that  of  the  heart,  in  the  spirit,  and  not  in 
the  letter  ;  whose  praise  is  not  of  men,  but  of  God. 

CHAPTER   III. 

What  advantage,  then,  hath  the  Jew  ?   or  what  profit  is  there 
in  circumcision  ?     Much  every  way :  first,  indeed,  because  unto   2 
them  were  committed  the  oracles  of  God.     For  what  ?  if  some  did   3 
not  beheve,  shall  their  unbelief  make  the  faithfulness  of  God  with- 
out effect  ?    By  no  means  ;  let  God  be  true,  though  every  man  is  a   4 
har  ;  as  it  is  written,  That  thou  mightest  be  justified  in  thy  sayings, 
and  mightest  overcome  when  thou  art  judged.     But  if  our  unright-    5 
eousness  commend  the  righteousness  of  God,  what  shall  we  say  ? 
Is  not   God  unrighteous  who  taketh  vengeance?  (I  speak  as  a 
man.)     By  no  means  :  otherwise  how  shall  God  judge  the  world  ?    6 
For  if  the  truthfulness  of  God  hath  more  abounded  by  my  lie  unto   7 
his  glory,  why  am  I  still  condemned  as  a  sinner  ?     And  shall  we   8 
not  say,  as  we  are  slanderously  reported,  and  as  some  affirm  that 
we  say.  Let  us  do  evil  that  good  may  come  ?  whose  condemnation 
is  just. 

What  then  ?  are  we  any  better  ?     Not  at  all ;  for  we  have  al-   9 


i 


III.]  TO  THE  EOMANS.  237 

10  ready  proved  that  botli  Jews  and  Gentiles  are  all  under  sin ;  as  it 

11  is  written,  There  is  none  righteous,  no,  not  one  :  there  is  none  that 

12  understandeth,  there  is  none  that  seeketh  after  God.  They  have 
all  gone  out  of  the  way,  they  have  together  become  unprofitable ; 

13  there  is  none  that  doetli  good,  no,  not  one.  Their  throat  is  an  open 
sepulchre ;  with  their  tongues  they  have  used  deceit ;  the  poison 

14  of  asjDS  is  under  their  hps  ;  whose  mouth  is  full  of  cursing  and 
le  bitterness.  Their  feet  are  swift  to  shed  blood ;  destruction  and 
17  misery  are  in  their  ways ;  and  the  way  of  peace  have  they  not 
\l  known  ;  there  is  no  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes.     Now  we  know 

that  whatsoever  things  the  law  saith,  it  saith  to  them  who  are  under 
the  law,  that  every  mouth  may  be  stopped,  and  the  whole  world 

20  become  guilty  before  God.  Because  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  there 
shall  no  flesh  be  made  righteous  in  his  sight ;  for  by  the  law  is  the 
knowledge  of  sin. 

21  But  now  the  righteousness  of  God  without  the  law  is  manifested, 

22  having  the  testimony  of  the  law  and  the  prophets  ;  even  the  right- 
eousness of  God  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  unto  all  and  upon  all 

23  believers ;  for  there  is  no  distinction.     For  all  have  sinned,  and 

24  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God ;  being  made  just  freely  by  his 

25  grace  through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Clirist  Jesus  ;  whom  God 
hath  set  forth  as  a  mercy-seat  through  faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare 
his  righteousness,  for  the  remission  of  past  sins  through  the  forbear- 

26  ance  of  God :  to  declare  at  this  time  his  righteousness  (his  method 
of  making  men  righteous)  that  he  might  be  righteous,  and  that  he 
might  make  him  that  beheveth  righteous. 

27  Where  is  boasting,  then  ?     It  is  excluded.     By  what  law  ?     Of 
23  works  ?     No,  but  by  the  law  of  faith.     Therefore  we  conclude  that 

29  a  man  is  made  righteous  by  faith  without  the  deeds  of  the  law.  Is 
he  the  God  of  the  Jews  only  ?     Is  he  not  also  of  the  Gentiles  ? 

30  Yes,  of  the  Gentiles  also ;  since  it  is  the  same  God  who  shall  make 
the  circumcision  righteous  by  faith,  and  the  uncircumcision  right- 

31  eous  by  faith.  Do  we  then  make  the  law  void  through  faith  ? 
By  no  means  ;  but  we  confirm  the  law. 


238  THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  [Chap. 

CHAPTEE    IV. 

What  shall  we  say,  then,  that  Abraham  our  father  hath  obtamed 
as  it  respects  the  flesh  ?     For  if  Abraham  were  made  righteous  by   2 
works,  he  hath  whereof  to  boast,  but  not  before  God.     For  what   3 
saith  the  Scripture  ?     Abraham  beheved  God,  and  it  was  reckoned 
unto  him  for  righteousness.     Now  to  him  that  worketh  is  the  re-   4 
ward  not  reckoned  of  grace,  but  of  debt.     But  to  him  that  worketh   5 
not,  but  beHeveth  on  him  that  maketh  righteous  the  ungodly,  his 
faith  is  reckoned  for  righteousness.    Even  as  David  also  describeth   6 
the  blessedness  of  the  man  unto  whom  God  reckoneth  righteous- 
ness without  works :  Blessed  are  they  whose  iniquities  are  for-   7 
given,  and  whose  sins  are  covered.     Blessed  is  the  man  to  whom   8 
the  Lord  will  not  reckon  sin.     Is  tliis  blessedness  then  for  the  cir-   9 
cumcision  only,  or  for  the  uncircumcision  also  ?  for  we  say  that 
faith  was  reckoned  to  Abraham  for  righteousness.     How  then  was  10 
it  reckoned  ?  when  he  was  in  circumcision,  or  in  uncircumcision  ? 
Not  in  circumcision,  but  in  uncircumcision.     And  he  received  the  11 
sign  of  circumcision  as  a  seal  of  the  righteousness  of  faith  which  he 
had  yet  being  uncircumcised :  that  he  might  be  the  father  of  all  them 
that  believe,  though  they  be  not  circumcised ;  that  righteousness 
might  also  be  reckoned  unto  them  :  and  the  father  of  the  circum-  12 
cised,  who  are  not  only  of  the  circumcision,  but  who  also  walk  in 
the  steps  of  that  faith  which  our  father  Abraham  had  while  he  was 
yet  uncircumcised.    For  not  through  the  law  was  the  promise  made  13 
to  Abraham,  or  to  his  seed,  that  he  should  be  the  heir  of  the  world, 
but  through  the  righteousness  of  faith.     For  if  they  who  are  of  the  u 
law  be  heirs,  faith  is  made  void,  and  the  promise  rendered  of  none 
effect ;  because  the  law  worketh  wrath  ;  for  where  there  is  no  law,  15 
there  is  no  transgression.     Therefore  it  is  of  faith,  that  it  may  be  16 
by  grace  ;  in  order  that  the  promise  might  be  sure  to  all  the  seed  ; 
not  to  that  only  which  is  of  the  law,  but  to  that  also  which  is  of  the 
faith  of  Abraham,  who  is  the  father  of  us  all,  (as  it  is  written,  I  n 
have  made  thee  a  father  of  many  nations,)  before  him  whom  he 
believed,  even  God,  who  quickeneth  the  dead,  and  calleth  those 
things  which  be  not  as  though  they  were  :  who  against  hope  be-  is 
lieved  in  hope,  that  he  would  become  the  father  of  many  nations. 


v.]  TO   THE  KOMANS.  239 

19  according  to  that  which  was  spoken,  So  shall  thy  seed  be.     And 
;     being  not  weak  in  faith,  he  regarded  not  his  own  body  now  dead, 

being  about  one  hundred  years  old,  nor  the  deadness  of  Sarah's 

20  womb  :  he  staggered  not  at  the  promise  of  God  through  unbelief, 

21  but  he  was  strong  in  faith,  giving  glory  to  God ;  and  being  fully 
persuaded  that  what  he  had  promised,  he  was  able  also  to  perform. 

^  And  therefore  it  was  reckoned  to  him  for  righteousness.  Yet  it 
was  not  written  for  his  sake  alone,  that  it  was  reckoned  to  him ; 

24  but  for  us  also,  to  whom  it  will  be  reckoned,  if  we  believe  on  hiir 

25  who  raised  up  Jesus  our  Lord  from  the  dead,  who  was  delivered 
up  for  our  offences,  and  was  raised  again  for  our  righteousness. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Therefore,  being  justified  (or  put  in  the  way  of  righteousness) 
by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ : 

2  by  whom  also  we  have  access  into  this  grace  wherein  we  stand, 

3  and  rejoice  m  hope  of  the  glory  of  God.  And  not  only  so,  but 
we  rejoice  in  tribulations  also,  knowing  that  tribulation  worketh 

5  patience,  and  patience  experience,  and  experience  hope,  and  hope 
maketh  not  ashamed ;  because  the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in 

6  our  hearts  by  the  holy  spirit  which  is  given  unto  us.  For  Christ, 
when  we  were  yet  without  strength,  in  due  time  died  for  the  un 

7  godly.     For  scarcely  for  a  righteous  man  will  one  die ;  yet  perad- 

8  venture  for  a  benefactor  some  would  even  dare  to  die.  But  God 
commendeth  his  love  toward  us,  in  that,  while  we  were  yet  sinners, 

0  Christ  died  for  us.  Much  more,  then,  being  now  justified  (or  put 
in  the  way  of  righteousness)  by  his  blood,  we  shall  be  saved  from 

10  wrath  through  him.  For  if,  when  we  were  enemies,  we  were  rec- 
onciled to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son,  much  more,  being  recon- 

11  ciled,  we  shall  be  saved  by  his  life.  And  not  only  so,  but  we  also 
rejoice  in  God,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Chi'ist,  by  whom  we  have 
now  received  the  reconciliation. 

12  Wherefore  as  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death 
by  sin,  even  so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned ; 

13  for  until  the  law,  sin  was  in  the  world ;  but  sin  is  not  reckoned 

14  when  there  is  no  law.     Nevertheless,  death  reigned  from  Adam  to 


240  THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  [Chap. 

Moses,  even  over  tliem  that  had  not  sinned  after  the  simihtude  of 
Adam's  transgression,  who  is  the  type  of  him  that  was  to  come. 
And  not  as  is  the  offence,  so  also  is  the  free  gift ;  for  if  through  is 
the  offence  of  one  many  be  dead,  much  more  the  grace  of  God, 
and  the  gift  by  grace,  which  is  by  one  man,  Jesus   Christ,  hath 
abounded  unto  many.     And  not  as  it  was  by  one  that  sinned,  so  is  i6 
the  gift ;  for  the  judgment  was  by  one  to  condemnation,  but  the 
free  gift  is  of  many  offences  unto  justification  (or  the  way  of  right- 
eousness).    For  if  by  one  man's  offence  death  reigned  by  one ;  17 
much  more  they  who  receive  abundance  of  grace  and  of  the  gift  of 
righteousness  shall  reign  in  hfe  by  one,  Jesus  Christ.     Therefore  is 
as  by  one  offence,  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation, 
even  so  by  one  righteousness  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto 
justification  (or  the  way  of  righteousness)  of  life.     For  as  by  one  19 
man's  disobedience  many  were  made  sinners,  so  by  the  obedience 
of  one  shall  many  be  made  righteous.     Moreover,  the  law  entered  20 
that  the  offence  might  abound ;  but  where  sin  abounded,  grace  did 
much  more  abound;  so  that,  as  sin  hath  reigned  unto  death,  even  21 
so  might  grace  reign  through  righteousness  unto  eternal  life  by 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

CHAPTER    VI. 

What  shall  we  say,  then  ?     Shall  we  continue  in  sin,  that  grace 
may  abound  ?     By  no  means.     How  shall  we,  that  are  dead  to   2 
sin,  live  any  longer  therein  ?     Know  ye  not  that  so  many  of  us  as   3 
were  baptized  into  Christ  Jesus  were  baptized  into  his  death? 
Therefore  we  are  buried  with  him  by  baptism  into  death  :  so  that  4 
as  Christ  was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father, 
even  so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  hfe.     For  if  we  have   5 
been  planted  together  in  the  likeness  of  his  death,  we  shall  be  also 
in  the  likeness  of  his  resurrection  ;  knowing  this,  that  our  old  man   6 
is  crucified  with  him,  that  the  body  of  sin  might  be  destroyed,  that 
we  should  no  longer  serve  sin.     For  he  that  is  dead  is  freed  from   7 
sin.     But  if  we  be  dead  with  Christ,  we  believe  that  we  shall  also   8 
live  with  him  :  knowing  that  Christ,  being  raised  from  the  dead,    9 
dieth  no  more  ;  death  hath  no  more  dominion  over  him.     For  in  10 


VII.]  ^  TO   THE  ROMANS.  241 

that  he  died,  he  died  unto  sin  once  for  all ;  but  in  that  he  liveth, 

11  he  liveth  unto  God.  Likewise  reckon  ye  also  yourselves  to  be 
dead  indeed  unto  sin,  but  alive  unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ. 

12  Let  not  sm,  therefore,  reign  in  your  mortal  body,  that  ye  should 

13  obey  the  lusts  thereof.  Neither  yield  ye  your  members  as  instru- 
ments of  unrighteousness  unto  sin  :  but  yield  yourselves  unto  God, 
as  those  that  are  aUve  from  the  dead,  and  your  members  as  instru- 

14  ments  of  righteousness  unto  God.  For  sin  shall  not  have  dominion 
over  you  ;  for  ye  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace. 

15  What  then  ?     Shall  we  sin,  because  we  are  not  under  the  law, 

16  but  under  grace  ?  By  no  means.  Know  ye  not  that  to  whom  ye 
yield  yourselves  as  servants  to  obey,  his  servants  ye  become  whom 
ye  obey ;  whether  of  sin  unto  death,  or  of  obedience  unto  right- 

17  eousness  ?  But  God  be  thanked,  that,  havmg  been  the  servants 
of  sin,  ye  have  obeyed  from  the  heart  that  form  of  doctrine  which 

18  was  delivered  unto  you.     Being  then  made  free  from  sin,  ye  be- 

19  came  the  servants  of  righteousness.  (I  speak  after  the  manner  of 
men  because  of  the  weakness  of  your  flesh.)  For  as  ye  have 
yielded  your  members  servants  to  uncleanuess  and  to  iniquity 
upon  iniquity,  even  so  now  yield  your  members  servants  to  right- 

20  eousness  unto  holiness.     For  when  ye  were  the  servants  of  sin, 

21  ye  were  free  from  righteousness.  What  fruit  had  ye  then  in 
those  things,  whereof  ye  are  now  ashamed  ?     For  the  end  of  those 

22  things  is  death.  But  now,  being  made  free  from  sin,  and  having 
become  servants  to  God,  ye  have  your  fruit  unto  holiness,  but  the 

23  end  is  everlasting  life.  For  the  wages  of  sin  is  death,  but  the  gift 
of  God  is  everlasting  life  in  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

CHAPTER  Vn. 

Know  ye  not,  brethren,  (for  I  speak  to  them  that  know  the 
law,)   that  the  law  hath  dominion  over  a  man  as  long  as  he  liveth. 

2  For  the  woman  who  hath  a  husband  is  bound  by  the  law  to  her 
husband  as  long  as  he  liveth ;  but  if  her  husband  be  dead,  she  is 

3  loosed  from  the  law  of  her  husband.  Therefore,  if  while  her  hus- 
band is  ^^'ing  she  be  married  to  another  man,  she  shall  be  called 
an  adulteress  ;  but  if  her  husband  die,  she  is  free  from  the  law,  so 

21 


242  THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  jChap. 

that  she  will  not  be  an  adulteress,  though  she  be  married  to  another 
man.     Wherefore  ye  also,  my  brethi'en,  have  become  dead  to  the    4 
law  by  the  body  of  Christ ;  that  ye  should  be  married  to  another, 
even  to  him  who  is  raised  from   the  dead,  that  we  should  bring 
forth  fruit  unto  God.     For  when  we  were  in  the  flesh,  our  sinful   5 
passions,  which  were  by  the  law,  wrought  powerfully  in  our  mem- 
bers to  bring  forth  fruit  unto  death.     But  now  we  are  freed  from   e 
the  law,  since  we  have  become  dead  to  that  by  which  we  were  held 
in  bondage,  so  that  we  should  serve  in  newness  of  spirit,  and  not 
in  the  oldness  of  the  letter. 

Wliat  shall  we  say  then  ?     Is  the  law  sin  ?     By  no  means.     On   7 
the  contrary,  I  had  not  known  sin  but  by  the  law  :  for  I  had  not 
known  lust,  except  the  law  had  said,  Thou  shalt  not  lust.     But  sin,   s 
taking  occasion  by  the  commandment,  wrought  in  me  all  manner 
of  lust ;  for  without  the  law  sin  were  dead.     For  I  was  aUve  with-    9 
out  the  law  once  ;  but  when  the  commandment  came,  sin  revived, 
and  I  died ;  and  the  commandment,  wliich  was  ordained  to  Hfe,  I  10 
found  to  be  unto  death.     For  sin,  taking  occasion  by  the  command-  11 
ment,  deceived  me,  and  by  it  slew  me  ;  so  that  the  law  is  holy,  and  12 
the  commandment  holy  and  just  and  good.     Was,  then,  that  which  13 
is  good  made  death  unto  me  ?     By  no  means.     But  sin  was  made 
so,  in  order  that  it  might  appear  as  sin,  working  death  in  me  by 
that  which  is  good ;  that  sin  by  the  commandment  might  become 
exceedingly  sinful.     For  we  know  that  the  law  is  spiritual,  but  I  14 
am  carnal,  sold  under  sin.     For  that  which  I  do,  I  allow  not ;  for  15 
what  I  would,  that  do  I  not ;  but  what  I  hate,  that  do  I.     But  if  I  le 
do  that  wliich  I  would  not,  I  consent  unto  the  law  as  being  good. 
Now  then,  it  is  no  more  I  that  do  this,  but  sin  that  dwelleth  in  me.  n 
For  I  know  that  in  me,  that  is,  in  my  flesh,  dwelleth  no  good  thing ;  is 
for  to  wiQ  is  present  with  me,  but  not  how  to  perform  that  which 
is  good.     For  the  good  that  I  would,  I  do  not ;  but  the  evil  which  19 
I  would  not,  that  do  I.     Now  if  I  do  that  I  would  not,  it  is  no  20 
more  I  that  do  it,  but  sm  that  dwelleth  in  me.     I  find,  then,  a  law,  21 
that  when  I  would  do  good,  evil  is  present  with  me.     For  I  delight  22 
in  the  law  of  God  after  the  inward  man ;  but  I  see  another  law  in  23 
my  members,  warring  against  the  law  of  my  mind,  and  bringing 
me  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin  which  is  in  my  members.     O  24 


Vlll.]  TO   THE  ROMANS.  243 

wretched  man  that  I  am  !  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of 
25  this  death  ?     I  thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     So 
then  with  the  mind  I  myself  serve  the  law  of  God,  but  with  the 
flesh  the  law  of  sin. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

There  is  therefore  now  no  condemnation  to  them  who  are  in 

2  Christ  Jesus.     For  the  law  of  spu-itual  life  m  Christ  Jesus  hath 

3  freed  me  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death.  For  what  the  law  could 
not  do,  in  that  it  was  weak  through  the  flesh,  God  has  done,  who, 
sending  his  own  Son  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  and  on  account 

4  of  sin,  condemned  sin  in  the  flesh  ;  in  order  that  the  righteousness 
of  the  law  might  be  fulfilled  m  us,  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh, 

6  but  after  the  spirit.  For  they  that  are  after  the  flesh  do  mind  the 
things  of  the  flesh,  but  they  that  are  after  the  spirit  the  thmgs  of 

6  the  spirit.     For  to  be  carnally-minded  is  death,  but  to  be  spiritu- 

7  ally-minded  is  life  and  peace.  Because  the  carnal  mind  is  enmity 
against  God  ;  for  it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  neither  indeed 

8  can  be.     Those,  then,  that  are  in  the  flesh,  cannot  please  God. 

9  But  ye  are  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  spirit,  if  so  be  that  the 
spirit  of  God  dwell  in  you.     Now  if  any  one  hath  not  the  spirit  of 

10  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his.  But  if  Christ  be  in  you,  the  body  indeed 
is  dead  through  sin,  but  the  spirit  is  aUve  through  righteousness. 

11  But  if  the  spirit  of  him  who  raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead  dwell 
in  you,  he  who  raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead  shall  quicken  even 
your  mortal  bodies  by  liis  spirit  that  dwelleth  in  you. 

12  Therefore,  brethren,  we  are  not  debtors  to  the  flesh  to  live  after 

13  the  flesh.  For  if  ye  hve  after  the  flesh,  ye  shall  die ;  but  if  ye 
through  the  spirit  do  destroy  the  deeds  of  the  body,  ye  shall  Hve. 

14  For  as  many  as  are  led  by  the  spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of 

15  God.  For  ye  have  not  received  the  spirit  of  bondage  again  to 
fear  ;  but  ye  have  received  the  spirit  of  adoption,  in  which  we  cry, 

16  Abba,  Father.     The  spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  our  spu'it 

17  that  we  are  the  children  of  God  ;  but  if  children,  then  heirs  ;  heirs 
indeed  of  God,  and  joint  heirs  with  Christ,  if  so  be  that  we  suffer 
with  him,  that  we  may  also  be  glorified  together. 


244   -  THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  [Chap. 

For  I  reckon  that  tlie  sufiferings  of  tlie  present  time  are  not  is 
worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed  in 
us.     For  the  earnest  expectation  of  the  creation  waiteth  for  the  19 
manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God.     For  the  creation  was  made  sub-  20 
ject  to  vanity,  not  willingly,  but  by  reason  of  him  who  hath  sub- 
jected the  same,  in  hope  that  the  creation  itself  also  shall  be  deliv-  21 
ered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption  into  the  glorious  Hberty  of  the 
children  of  God.     For  we  know  that  the  whole  creation  groaneth  22 
together  and  travaileth  in  pain  until  now  ;  and  not  only  so,  but  we  23 
also,  who  have  the  first  fruits  of  the  spirit,  even  we  ourselves  groan 
in  ourselves,  waiting  for  the  adoption,  that  is,  the  redemption  of  our 
body.     For  we  are  saved  in  hope  ;  but  hope  that  is  seen  is  not  24 
hope  ;  for  what  a  man  seeth,  why  doth  he  yet  hope  for  ?     But  if  25 
we  hope  for  that  we  see  not,  then  with  patience  do  we  wait  for.  it. 

Likewise,  the  spirit  also  helpeth  our  infirmities ;  for  we  know  26 
not  what  we  should  pray  for  as  we  ought ;  but  the  spirit  itself 
maketh  intercession  for  us  with  unutterable  groanings.     And  he  27 
that  searcheth  the  hearts  knoweth  what  is  the  mind  of  the  spirit, 
that  it  maketh  intercession  for  the  saints  according  to  the  will  01 
God..   And  we  know  that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  28 
them  who  love  God,  to  them  who  are  called  according  to  his  pur- 
pose.    For  whom  he  did  foreknow,  he  also  did  predestinate  to  be  29 
conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son,  that  he  might  be  the  first-born 
among  many  brethren.      Moreover,  whom  he  did   predestinate,  30 
them  he  also  called ;  and  whom   he  called,  them  he  also  made 
righteous  ;  and  whom  he  made  righteous,  them  he  also  glorified. 

What  shall  we  say,  then,  to  these  things?     If  God  be  for  us,  31 
who  can  be  against  us  ?     He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  de-  32 
livered  him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him  also  freely 
give  us  all  things  ?     Who  shall  lay  anything  to  the  charge  of  God's  33 
elect  ?     Is  it  God  that  justifieth  ?     Who  is  he  that  condemneth  ?  34 
Is  it  Christ  that  died  ?  yea,  rather  that  is  risen  again,  who  is  even 
at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also  maketh  intercession  for  us  ? 
Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ  ?     Shall  tribulation,  35 
or  distress,  or  persecution,  or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or 
sword  ?     As  it  is  written.  For  thy  sake  we  are  killed  all  the  day  36 
long ;  Ave  are  reckoned  as  sheep  for  the  slaughter.     But  in  all  37 


IX.]  TO   THE  KOIVIANS.  245 

these  things  we  are  more  than  conquerors  through  him  that  loved 

38  us.  For  I  am  persuaded  that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels, 
nor   principalities,   nor   things  present,   nor   things   to  come,  nor 

39  powers,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creation,  shall  be  able  to 
separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  m  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

CHAPTER   IX. 

I  SPEAK  the  truth  in  Cln-ist,  I  lie  not,  my  conscience  also  bear- 

2  ing  me  witness  in  the  holy  spirit,  that  I  have  great  grief,  and  con- 

3  tinual  pain  m  my  heart.  For  I  could  wish  that  I  myself  were 
accursed  from  Christ  for  the  sake  of  my  bretlu-en,  my  kinsmen 

4  according  to  the  flesh,  who  are  Israelites ;  whose  is  the  adoption, 
and  the  glory,  and  the  covenants,  and  the  giving  of  the  law,  and 

5  the  service  of  the  temple,  and  the  promises  ;  whose  are  the  fathers, 
and  from  whom,  according  to  the  flesh,  Christ  came.     God  who  is 

6  over  al]  be  blessed  for  ever.  Amen.  Not  as  though  the  word  of 
God  had  taken  none  effect.     For  they  are  not  all  Israel  who  are 

7  of  Israel ;  nor,  because  they  are  the  seed  of  Abraham,  are  all  chil- 

8  di-en  ;  but.  In  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called.  That  is  to  say.  They 
who  are  children  of  the  flesh,  these  are  not  the  children  of  God, 

9  but  the  children  of  the  promise  are  reckoned  for  the  seed.  For 
this  is  the  word  of  promise :  At  this  time  will  I  come,  and  Sarah 

10  shall  have  a  son.     And  not  only  so  ;  but  Rebecca  also  conceived 

11  by  one,  Isaac  our  father.  For  the  children  not  yet  having  been 
born,  nor  having  done  anything  good  or  evil,  in  order  that  the  pur- 
pose of  God  according  to  election  might  stand,  not  by  works,  but 

12  by  him  that  calleth,  it  was  said  unto  her.  The  elder  shall  serve  the 

13  younger ;  as  it  is  written,  Jacob  have  I  loved,  but  Esau  have  I 
hated. 

14  What  shall  we  say,  then  ?     Is  there  unrighteousness  with  God  ? 

15  By  no  means.  For  he  'saith  to  Moses,  I  will  have  mercy  on  whom 
I  will  have  mercy,  and  I  will  have  compassion  on  whom  I  will 

16  have  compassion.     It  is  not  therefore  of  him  that  willeth,  nor  of 

17  him  that  runneth,  but  of  God  that  showeth  mercy.  For  the  Scrip- 
ture saith  unto  Pharaoh,  That  for  this  same  purpose  I  have  raised 
thee  up,  that  I  might  show  my  power  in  thee,  and  that  my  name 

21* 


246  THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  [Chap. 

migM  be  declared  througliout  all  the  earth.    -Therefore  he  hath  is 
mercy  on  whom  he  will,  and  whom  he  will  he  hardeneth.     Thou  19 
wilt  then  say  unto  me,  Wliy  doth  he  still  find  fault  ?     For  who 
hath  resisted  his  will  ?     Nay,  but,  O  man,  who  art  thou  that  repH-  20 
est  against  God  ?     Shall  the  thing  formed  say  to  the  former,  Why 
hast  thou  made  me  thus  ?     Hath  not  the  potter  power  over  the  21 
clay,  of  the  same  lump  to  make  one  vessel  unto  honor,  and  another 
unto  dishonor  ?      What  if  God,  willing  to  show  his   wrath  and  22 
make  known  his  power,  endured  Avith  much  long-suffering  the  ves- 
sels of  wrath  fitted  to  destruction ;  and  that  he  might  make  known  23 
the  riches  of  his  glory  on  the  vessels  of  mercy,  which  he  had  before 
prepared  unto  glory,  even  us  whom  he  had  called,  not  of  the  Jews  24 
only,  but  also  of  the  Gentiles  ?     As  he  saith  also  in  Hosea,  I  will  25 
call  them  my  people  who  were  not  my  people,  and  her  beloved 
who  was  not  beloved.     Ajid  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  in  the  place  2G 
where  it  was  said  to  them.  Ye  are  not  my  people,  there  shall  they 
be  called  the  children  of  the  living  God.     Isaiah  also  crieth  con-  27 
cernmg  Israel,  Though  the  number  of  the  children  of  Israel  be  as 
the  sand  of  the  sea,  a  remnant  only  shall  be  saved ;  for  he  will  2s 
fulfil  and  execute  in  righteousness  his  word,  because  the  Lord  will 
execute  liis  word  upon  the  earth.     Adid  as  Isaiah  said  before.  Ex-  29 
cept  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth  had  left  us  a  seed,  we  had  become  as 
Sodom,  and  we  had  been  likened  unto  Gomorrah. 

What  shall  we  say,  then  ?     That  the  GentUes,  who  did  not  seek  30 
after  righteousness,  have  attained  to  righteousness,  even  the  right- 
eousness wliich  is  by  faith  ;    but  Israel,  who  followed  after  the  31 
law  of  righteousness,  hath  not  attained  to  the  law  of  righteousness. 
Wherefore  ?     Because  they  have  not  sought  it  by  faith,  but  as  it  32 
were  by  the  works  of  the  law.     For  they  stumbled  at  that  stum- 
bling-stone ;  as  it  is  written.  Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  a  stumbhng-stone  33 
and  rock  of  offence,  and  whoever  beheveth  on  him  shall  not  be 
ashamed. 

CHAPTER   X. 

Brethren,  my  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God  for  Israel  is, 
that  they  may  be  saved.     For  I  bear  them  testimony  that  they   2 


S.]  TO   THE  ROMANS.  247 

3  have  a  zeal  for  God,  but  not  according  to  knowledge.  For  being 
ignorant  of  God's  righteousness,  and  seeking  to  establish  their  own 
righteousness,  they  have  not  submitted  themselves  to  the  righteous- 

4  ness  of  God.     For  Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to 
6  every  believer.     For  Moses  describeth  the  righteousness,  which  is 

of  the  law.  That  the  man  that  doeth  those  things  shall  Hve  by 

6  them.  But  the  righteousness  which  is  of  faith  speaketh  in  this 
way.  Say  not  in  thy  heart.  Who  shall  ascend  into  heaven  ?  that  is, 

7  to  bring  Christ  down.    Or,  Who  shall  descend  into  the  abyss  ?  that 

8  is,  to  bring  up  Chi'ist  again  from  the  dead.  But  w^hat  saith  it  ? 
The  word  is  nigh  thee,  even  in  thy  mouth,  and  in  thy  heart ;  that 

9  is,  the  word  of  faith,  which  we  preach ;  that  if  thou  shalt  confess 
with  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  shalt  beheve  in  thy  heart  that 

10  God  hath  raised  him  up  from  the  dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved.  For 
with  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  righteousness ;  and  with  the 
mouth   he   confesseth   unto   salvation.     For  the   Scripture  saith, 

12  Whosoever  beheveth  on  him  shall  not  be  ashamed.  For  there  is 
no  distinction  between  the  Jew  and  the  Greek,  for  the  same  Lord 

"  13  of  all  is  rich  to  all  who  call  upon  him.     For  whosoever  shall  call 

14  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved.  How  then  shall  they 
call  upon  him  in  whom  they  have  not  believed  ?  and  how  shall  they 
believe  in  him  of  w^hom  they  have  not  heard  ?  and  how  shall  they 

15  hear  ^^^thout  a  preacher  ?  and  how  shall  they  preach  except  they 
be  sent  ?  as  it  is  written.  How  beautiful  are  the  feet  of  them  who 
preach  the  gospel  of  peace,  and  bring  glad  tidings  of  good 
things  ! 

16  But  not  all  have  obeyed  the  gospel.     For  Isaiah  saith.  Lord, 

17  who  hath  beheved  our  report  ?     So  then  faith  cometh  by  hearing, 
IS  and  hearing  by  the  word  of  God.     But  I  say.  Have  they  not 

heard  ?     Yes,  verily,  their  sound  went  into  all  the  earth,  and  their 

19  words  unto  the  ends  of  the  world.  But  I  say,  Did  not  Israel 
know  ?  First  Moses  saith,  I  will  provoke  you  to  emulation  by 
them  that  are  no  people,  and  by  a  foohsh  nation  I  will  anger  you. 

20  But  Isaiah,  is  very  bold,  and  saith,  I  was  found  by  them  that  sought 
me  not ;  I  was  made  manifest  unto  them  that  asked  not  after  me. 

21  But  to  Israel  he  saith,  All  day  long  I  have  stretched  forth  my 
hands  unto  a  disobedient  and  gainsaying  people. 


248  THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  [Chap. 

CHAPTER   XL 

I  SAY,  then,  Hath  God  rejected  his  people  ?    By  no  means.    For 
I  also  am  an  Israelite,  of  the  seed  of  Abraham,  of  the  tribe  of  Ben- 
jamin.    God   hath   not  rejected  his  people  whom  he  foreknew.    2 
Know  ye  not  what  the  Scripture  m  Ehjah  saith  ?     How  he  mak- 
eth  intercession  to  God  against  Israel :  Lord,  they  have  killed  thy   3 
prophets,  and  digged  down  thy  altars  ;  and  I  only  am  left,  and 
they  are  seekmg  my  life.     But  what  saith  the  answer  of  God  to   4 
him  ?     I  have  reserved  to  myself  seven  thousand  men,  who  have 
not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal.     Even  so,  then,  there  is  at  this  pres-   5 
ent  time  also  a  remnant  according  to  the  election  of  grace.     But  if  6 
it  be  of  grace,  then  it  is  no  more  of  works,  else  grace  is  no  more 
grace.     But  if  it  be  of  works,  it  is  no  more  of  grace  ;  else  works 
are  no  more  works.     What  then  ?     Israel  hath  not  obtained  that   7 
which  they  seek  for ;  but  the  elect  have  obtained  it,  and  the  rest 
were  bhnded ;  according  as  it  is  written,  God  hath  given  them  the    8 
spirit  of  slumber,  eyes  that  see  not,  and  ears  that  hear  not  unto  this 
day.     David  also  saith.  Let  their  table  become  a  snare,  and  a  trap,    9 
and  a  stumbling-block,  and  a  recompense  to  them.     Let  their  eyes  10 
be  darkened,  that  they   may  not  see,  and  their  back  be  always 

bowed  down. 

» 

I  say,  then.  Have  they  stumbled  so  as  to  fall?     By  no  means.  11 
But  through  their  faU  salvation  is  come  to  the  Gentiles  to  provoke 
them  to  emulation.     Now  if  their  fall  be  the  riches  of  the  world,  12 
and  their  diminishing  the  riches  of  the  Gentiles,  how  much  more 
their  fulness  ?     For  I  speak  to  you  Gentiles  ;  inasmuch  as  I  am  13 
the  apostle  of  the   Gentiles,  I  magnify  mine  office ;    if  by  any  14 
means  I  may  provoke  to  emulation  my  kuismen  after  the  flesh,  and 
save  some  of  them.     For  if  the  rejection  of  them  be  the  reconcih-  15 
ation  of  the  world,  what  shall  the  reception  of  them  be  but  life 
from  the  dead  ?     But  if  the  first-fruits  be  holy,  so  shall  the  lump  le 
be  ;  and  if  the  root  be  holy,  so  shall  be  the  branches. 

But  if  some  of  the  branches  be  broken  off,  and  thou,  being  a  17 
wild  olive-tree,  wert  gi-afted  in  their  stead,  and  made  partaker  of 
the  root  and  fatness  of  the  olive-tree,  boast  not  over  the  branches ;  is 
but  if  thou  boast,  thou  bearest  not   the  root,  but  the  root  thee. 


XII.]  TO  THE  ROMANS.  249 

19  Thou  wilt  say,  then,  The  branches  were  broken  off,  that  I  might  be 

20  grafted  in.     Well ;  because  of  unbelief  they  were  broken  off,  and 

21  thou  standest  by  faith.  Be  not  liigh-minded,  but  fear.  For  if 
God  spared  not  the  natural  branches,  perhaps  he  will  not  spare 

22  thee.  Behold,  therefore,  the  kindness  and  severity  of  God :  on 
them  that  fell,  severity ;  but  on  thee,  the  kindness  of  God,  if  thou 

23  adhere  to  his  kindness  ;  otherwise,  thou  also  shalt  be  cut  off.  And 
they  also,  if  they  adhere  not  to  unbeHef,  shall  be  grafted  in ;  for 

24  God  is  able  to  graft  them  in  again.  For  if  thou  wert  cut  out  of 
the  olive-tree  which  is  wild  by  nature,  and  wert  grafted  contrary 
to  nature  into  a  good  olive-tree,  how  much  more  shall  these,  which 
are  natural,  be  grafted  into  their  o^vn  olive-tree  ! 

25  For  I  would  not,  brethren,  that  you  should  be  ignorant  of  this 
mystery,  lest  you  should  be  wise  in  your  own  conceits,  that  blind- 
ness has  befallen  Israel  in  part  until  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles 

26  shall  come  in.  And  so  all  Israel  shall  be  saved,  as  it  is  written, 
The  deUverer  shall  come  out  of  Zion,  and  shall  turn  away  ungod- 

27  liness  from  Jacob.     And  this  is  my  covenant  with  them,  when  I 

28  shall  take  away  their  sins.  As  it  regards  the  Gospel,  they  are 
become  enemies  on  your  account,  but  as  it  regards  the  election, 

29  they  are  beloved  on  account  of  the  fathers.     For  God  does  not 

30  repent  of  his  gifts  and  calling.  For  as  you  once  did  not  beheve  in 
God,  but  now  you  have  obtained  mercy  through  their  unbehef ; 

31  even  so  have  these  also  now  disbeheved,  that  through  the  mercy 

32  shown  to  you  they  may  obtain  mercy.     For   God  hath  included 

33  all  in  unbehef,  that  he  might  have  mercy  upon  aU.  O  the  depth 
of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God  !  How 
unsearchable  are  his  judgments,  and  his  ways  past  finding  out ! 

34  For  who  hath  known  the  mind  of  the  Lord  ?  or  who  hath  been  liis 

35  counsellor  ?  or  who  hath  first  given  to  him,  and  it  shall  be  recom- 

36  pensed  to  him  again  ?  For  of  him,  and  thi-ough  him,  and  to  him, 
are  all  things  :  to  him  be  glory  for  ever.     Amen. 

CHAPTER    XII. 

I  BESEECH  you,  therefore,  brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  that 
you  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  to  God, 


250  THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  [Cuap. 

wliicli  is  your  reasonable  service.     And  be  not  conformed  to  this   2 
world,  but  be  ye  transformed  by  tlie  renewing  of  your  mind,  that 
you  may  prove  what  the  will  of  God  is,  even  that  which  is  good, 
and  acceptable,  and  perfect.     For  I  say,  through  the  grace  given   3 
unto  me,  to  every  one  that  is  among  you,  not  to  tliink  of  himself 
more  highly  than  he  ought  to  think,  but  to  think  soberly,  according 
as  God  has  dealt  to  every  man  the  measure  of  faith.     For  as  in   4 
one  body  we  have  many  members,  but  all  the  members  have  not 
the  same  office  ;  so  we,  being  many,  are  one  body  m  Christ,  and   6 
are  members  one  of  another.     Having,  then,  gifts  differing  accord-   6 
ing  to  the  grace  that  is  given  to  us,  whether  prophecy,  let  us 
prophesy  according  to  the  proposition  of  faith ;  or  ministry,  let  us    7 
wait  on  our  ministering ;  or  he  that  teacheth,  on  teaching ;  or  he   8 
that  exhorteth,  on  exhortation :  he  that  giveth,  let  him  give  with 
simplicity  ;  he  that  ruleth,  with  diligence  ;  he  that  showeth  mercy,  ' 
with  cheerfulness. 

Let  love  be  without  dissimulation.     Abhor  that  which  is  evil,   9 
cleave  to  that  which  is  good.     Be  kindly  affectioned  one  to  another  10 
with  brotherly  love ;  in  honor  preferring  one  another  ;  not  slothful  11 
in  business ;  fervent  in  spirit ;  serving  the  Lord ;  rejoicing  in  hope  ;  12 
patient  in  tribulation ;  praying  without  ceasing ;  distributing  to  the  13 
necessities  of  the  saints  ;  given  to  hospitality.     Bless  them  which  u 
persecute  you ;  bless,  and  curse  not.     Rejoice  with  them  that  re-  15 
joice,   and  weep  with  them  that  weep.      Be  of  the  same  mind  ig 
one  toward  another.     Mind  not  high  things,  but  condescend  to  the 
humble.     Be  not  wise  in  your  own  conceits.     Render  to  no  man  17 
evil  for  evil.    Provide  things  honorable  in  the  sight  of  all  men.     If  is 
it  be  possible,  as  much  as  lieth  in  you,  live  peaceably  with  all  men. 
Dearly  beloved,  avenge  not  yourselves,  but  rather  give  place  unto  19 
wrath ;  for  it  is  written.  Vengeance  is  mine  ;  I  will  repay,  saith 
the  Lord.     Therefore,  if  thine  enemy  hunger,  {eed  him ;  if  he  20 
thu'st,  give  him  drink;  for  in  so  doing  thou  shalt  heap  coals  of 
fire  on  his  head.     Be  not  overcome  by  evil,  but  overcome  evil  by  21 
good. 


UV.]  Tu   THE  ROMANS.  251 

CHAPTER  Xm. 

Let  every  soul  be  subject  unto  the  powers  that  are  supreme. 
For  there  is  no  power  but  from  God ;  the  powers  that  be  are  or- 

2  dained  by  God.  So  that  he  who  resisteth  the  power  resisteth  the 
ordinance  of  God  ;  and  they  who  resist  shall  receive  to  themselves 

3  rondemnation.  For  rulers  are  not  a  terror  to  good  works,  but  to 
tlie  evil.     Wilt  thou  then  not  be  afraid  of  the  power?  do  that 

4  ^\  liich  is  good,  and  thou  shalt  have  praise  for  the  same.  For 
he  is  the  minister  of  God  to  thee  for  good.  But  if  thou  do  that 
which  is  evil,  be  afraid ;  for  he  beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain  ;  for 
he  is  the  minister  of  God,  an  avenger  to  execute  wrath  upon  him 

5  that  doeth  evil.     Wherefore  ye  must  needs  be  subject,  not  only 

6  because  of  wrath,  but  for  conscience'  sake.  On  this  very  account 
also  pay  tribute  ;  for  they  are  God's  ministers  who  attend  continu- 

7  ally  upon  this  very  thing.  Render  therefore  to  all  their  dues ; 
tribute  to  whom  tribute ;  custom  to  whom  custom ;  fear  to  whom 

8  fear ;  honor  to  whom  honor.  Owe  no  man  anything,  except  to 
love  one  another  ;  for  he  that  loveth  another  hath  fulfilled  the  law. 

9  For  this  is.  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery.  Thou  shalt  not  kiU, 
Thou  shalt  not  steal,  Thou  shalt  not  covet ;  and  if  there  be  any 
other   commandment,  it  is  briefly  comprehended  in  this  saymg, 

10  namely.  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself  Love  worketh 
no  ill  to  one's  neighbor  ;  therefore  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law. 

11  And  this,  too,  knowing  the  time,  that  it  is  the  hour  to  awake  out  of 
sleep,  for  now  is  our  salvation  nearer  than  when  we  became  be- 

12  lievers.  The  night  is  far  spent,  the  day  is  at  hand.  Let  us 
therefore  cast  off  the  works  of  darkness,  and  let  us  put  on  the 

3  armor  of  light.  Let  us  walk  becomingly,  as  in  the  day ;  not  in  rev- 
elHng  and  drunkenness,  not  in  licentiousness  and  wantonness,  not 

4  in  strife  and  envy ;  but  put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
make  not  provision  for  the  lusts  of  the  flesh. 


CHAPTER  XrV. 

Him  that  is  weak  in  the  faith  receive  ye,  but  not  to  judge  of  his 
2  scruples.     One  indeed  believeth  that  he  may  eat  everything,  but 


252  THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  [Chap. 

lie  who  is  weak  eateth  herbs.     Let  not  him  that  eateth  despise   3 
him  that  eateth  not ;  but  let  not  him  that  eateth  not  .condemn  him 
that  eateth ;  for  God  hath  accepted  him.     Who  art  thou  that  con-   4 
demnest  another  man's  servant  ?     To  his  own  master  he  standeth 
or  falleth ;  but  he  shall  stand,  for  God  is  able  to  make  him  stand. 
One  man  esteemeth  one  day  above  another ;  another  esteemeth   s 
every  day  ahke.     Let  each  one  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own 
mind.     He  that  regardeth  the  day,  regardeth  it  to  the  Lord,  and   6 
he  that  regardeth  not  the  day  to  the  Lord,  he  doth  not  regard  it. 
He  also  that  eateth,  eateth  to  the  Lord,  for  he  giveth  God  thanks ; 
and  he  that  eateth  not,  to  the  Lord  he  eateth  not,  and  giveth  God 
thanks.     For  none  of  us  liveth  to  himself,  and  no  man  dieth  to   7 
himself.     For   whether   we   live,   we   live   unto   the   Lord ;  and  8 
whether  we  die,  we  die  unto  the  Lord ;  whether  we  Hve,  therefore, 
or  die,  we  are  the  Lord's.     For  to  this  end  Clmst  both  died  and   9 
lived  again,  that  he  might  be  Lord  both  of  the  dead  and  the  living. 
But  why  dost  thou  condemn  thy  brother  ?  or  why  dost  thou  set  at  10 
naught  thy  brother  ?     for  we  must  all  stand  before  the  judgment- 
seat  of  God.     For  it  is  written,  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  every  11 
knee  shall  bow  to  me,  and  every  tongue  shall  confess  to  God.     So  12 
then  every  one  of  us  shall  give  account  of  himself  unto  God. 

Let  us  not  therefore  judge  one  another  any  more,  but  judge  this  is 
rather,  that  no  man  put  a  stumbling-block,  or  an  occasion  to  fall,  in 
in  his  brother's  way.     I  know  and  am  persuaded  in  the  Lord  14 
Jesus,  that  there  is  nothing  unclean  of  itself ;  but  to  him  that  es- 
teemeth anything  as  unclean,  to  him  it  is  unclean.     But  if  thy  15 
brother  be  grieved  on  account  of  thy  meat,  now  walkest  thou  no 
longer   charitably.     Destroy  not  him  with  thy  meat,  for  whom 
Christ  died.     Let  not  your  good,  then,  be  evil  spoken  of;  for  the  |f 
kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and  drink ;  but  righteousness,  and 
peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Spmt.     For  he  that  in  these  things  is 
serveth  Christ  is  acceptable  to  God,  and  approved  by  men.     Let  19 
us  therefore  pursue  the  things  that  make  for  peace  and  mutual  edi- 
fication.    For  meat  destroy  not  the   work   of  God.     All  things  20 
indeed  are  pure  ;  but  it  is  evil  to  that  man  who  eateth  with  offence. 
It  is  good  neither  to  eat  flesh  nor  to  drink  wine,  nor  to  do  any-  21 
thing  whereby  thy  brother  stumbleth.     Thou  hast  faith.     Have  it  22 


XV.]  TO   THE   ROMANS.  .  253 

to  thyself  before  God.     Happy  is  lie  that  condemneth  not  himself 
23  in  that  thing  which  he  alloweth.     But  he  who  has  scruples  is  con- 
demned if  he  eat,  because  he  eateth  not  of  faith ;  for  whatever  is 
not  of  faith  is  sin. 

CHAPTER   XV. 

But  we  who  are  strong  ought  to  bear  the  infirmities  of  the 

2  weak,  and  not  to  please  ourselves.     Let  each  one  of  us  please  his 

3  neighbor  in  respect  to  that  which  is  good  unto  edification.  For 
even  Christ  did  not  please  himself;  but  as  it  is  written.  The  re- 

4  proaches  of  them  that  reproached  thee  fell  on  me.  For  whatso- 
ever things  were  written  formerly  were  written  for  our  instruction, 
in  order  that  we,  through  the  patience  and  the  consolation  of  the 

5  Scriptures,  might  have  hope.  And  may  the  God  of  patience  and 
consolation  grant  that  you  may  be  Hke-minded  one  toward  another, 

6  according  to  Christ  Jesus ;  that  you  may  with  one  mind  and  one 
mouth   glorify  the   God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

7  Wherefore  welcome  you  one  another,  as  Christ  also  welcomed  you, 

8  to  the  glory  of  God.  For  I  say  that  Christ  became  a  minister  of 
the  circumcision  for  the  truth  of  God,  to  confirm  the  promises 

9  made  to  the  fathers,  that  the  Gentiles  should  glorify  God  for  his 
mercy ;  as  it  is  written.  For  this  cause  I  will  confess  thee  among 

10  the  Gentiles,  and  I  will  sing  unto  thy  name.      And    again   he 

11  saith.  Rejoice,  ye  Gentiles,  with  his  people.    And  again.  Praise  the 

12  Lord,  all  ye  Gentiles,  and  laud  him  all  ye  people.  And  again 
Isaiah  saith.  There  shall  be  a  root  of  Jesse,  and  one  shall  rise  to 

13  reign  over  the  Gentiles,  in  whom  the  Gentiles  shall  hope.  Now 
may  the  God  of  hope  fill  you  with  all  joy  and  peace  in  believing, 
that  you  may  abound  in  hope  through  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

14  But  I  myself  also  am  persuaded  concerning  you,  my  brethren, 
that  you  also  are  full  of  goodness,  filled  with  all  knowledge,  able 

15  also  to  admonish  one  another.  Yet  I  have  written  the  more  boldly 
unto  you  in  part,  as  further  putting  you  in  mind,  because  of  the 

16  grace  that  is  given  unto  me  by  God,  that  I  should  be  the  minister 
of  Christ  Jesus  to  the  Gentiles,  ministering  the  Gospel  of  God, 

22 


254  THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  [Chap. 

tliat  the  offering  up  of  the  Gentiles  might  be  acceptable,  being 
sanctified  by  the  Holy  Spii'it.     I  have  therefore  cause  of  glorying  n 
in  Christ  Jesus  as  to  the  thmgs  which  pertain  to  God.     For  I  will  is 
not  dare  to  speak  of  any  of  those  things  which  Christ  hath  not 
wrought  through  me  for  the  obedience  of  the  Gentiles,  by  word 
and  deed,  through  the  power  of  signs  and  wonders,  through  the  id 
power  of  the  spirit,  so  that  from  Jerusalem,  and  round  about  even 
to  Illyricum,  I  have  fully  preached  the  Gospel  of  Christ.     But  I  20 
was  very  desirous  so  to  preach  the  Gospel,  not  where  Christ  was 
named,  lest  I  should  build  on  another  man's  foundation  ;  but  as  it  21 
is  written.  They  shall  see,  to  whom  he  was  not  spoken  of,  and  they 
who  have  not  heard  shall  understand. 

Wherefore  also  I  have  been  much  hindered  from  coming  to  you ;  22 
but  now  having  no  longer  a  place  in  these  regions,  and  having  a  23 
great  desire  for  many  years  to  come  to  you,  whenever  I  shall  go  24 
into  Spain,  I  will  come  to  you.     For  I  hope  to  see  you  as  I  pass 
through,  and  to  be  sent  on  my  way  thitherward  by  you,  after  I 
have  first  been  somewhat  satisfied  with  your  society.    But  now  I  go  25 
unto  Jerusalem  to  minister  unto  the  saints.     For  it  hath  pleased  26 
Macedonia  and  Achaia  to  make  some  contribution  for  the  poor 
saints  who  are  at  Jerusalem.     It  hath  pleased  them  verily,  and  27 
their  debtors  they  are ;  for  if  the  Gentiles  have  shared  in  their 
spiritual  contributions,  they  ought  also  to  minister  unto  them  in 
temporal  things.     When,  therefore,  I  have  accomphshed  this,  and  28 
sealed  to  them  this  fruit,  I  will  pass  by  you  on  my  way  to  Spain. 
And  I  know  that,  when  I  come  unto  you,  I  shall  come  in  the  ful-  29 
ness  of  the  blessing  of  Christ.     But  I  beseech  you  by  our  Lord  30 
Jesus  Christ  and  the  love  of  the  spu'it,  that  ye  strive  together  with 
me  in  your  prayers  to  God  in  my  behalf;  that  I  may  be  delivered  31 
from  them  that  do  not  believe,  in  Judeea ;  and  that  my  service  for 
Jerusalem  may  be  acceptable  to  the  saints  ;  that  I  may  come  unto  32 
you  with  joy  by  the  will  of  God,  and  may  be  refreshed  with  you. 
The  God  of  peace  be  with  you  all.     Amen.  33 


XVI.]  TO   THE  RO]MANS.  255 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

Now  I  commend  to  you  Pliebe,  our  sister,  who  is  a  deaconess  of 

2  tlie  church  at  Cenchrea ;  that  you  may  receive  her  in  the  Lord,  in 
a  manner  worthy  of  the  saints,  and  assist  her  in  whatsoever  she 
may  have  need  of  you  ;  for  she  hath  been  a  helper  of  many,  and 
of  myself  also. 

3  Salute  Prisca  and  Aquila,  my  fellow-laborers  in  Christ  Jesus 

4  (who  have  for  my  Hfe  exposed  their  own,  to  whom  not  only  I 

5  give  thanks,  but  also  all  the  churches  of  the  Gentiles)  ;  and  the 
church  which  is  in  their  house.     Salute  Epenetus,  my  beloved, 

6  who  is  the  first-fruits  of  Asia  unto  Christ.      Salute  Mary,  who 

7  labored  much  for  us.  Salute  Andronicus  and  Junia,  my  kinsmen 
and  my  fellow-prisoners,  who  are  of  note  among  the  apostles,  who 

8  also  preceded  me  in  Christ.     Salute  AmpHas,  my  beloved  in  the 

9  Lord.     Salute  Urbanus,  our  fellow-laborer  in  Christ,  and  Stachys, 

10  my  beloved.     Salute  Apelles,  approved  in   Christ.     Salute  them 

11  who  are  of  the  household  of  Aristobulus.  Salute  Herodion,  my 
kinsman.     Salute  them  who  are  of  the  household  of  Narcissus, 

12  who  are  in  the  Lord.  Salute  Tryphena  and  Tryphosa,  who  labor 
in  the  Lord.     Salute  Persis,  the  beloved,  who  labored  much  in  the 

13  Lord.     Salute   Rufus,  chosen  in  the  Lord,  and  his  mother  and 

14  mine.     Salute  Asyncritus,  Phlegon,  Hermas,  Patrobas,  Hermes, 

15  and  the  brethren  with  them.  Salute  Philologus  and  Julia,  Ne- 
reus  and  his  sister,  and  Olympas,  and  all  the  saints  with  them. 

16  Salute  one  another  with  a  holy  kiss.  All  the  churches  of  Christ 
salute  you. 

17  Now  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  mark  them  who  cause  divisions 
and  oflfences,  contrary  to  the  doctrine  which  you  have  learned ; 

18  and  avoid  them.  For  such  persons  serve  not  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,   but   their   own  appetite,   and   by   good    words   and   fair 

19  speeches  deceive  the  hearts  of  the  simple.  For  your  obedience  is 
known  to  all.  I  rejoice  therefore  concerning  you,  yet  I  wish  you 
to  be  wise  as  to  that  which  is  good,  but  simple  as  to  that  which  is 

20  evil.  And  the  God  of  peace  shall  quickly  bruise  Satan  under 
your  feet. 

The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you. 


256  THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  TO   THE  ROMANS. 

Timothy,  my  fellow-laborer,  and  Lucius,  and  Jason,  and  Sosi-  21 
pater,  my  kinsmen,  salute  you.     I,  Tertius,  who  wrote  this  epistle,  22 
salute  you  in  the  Lord.     Gains,  the  host  of  me  and  of  the  whole  23 
church,  saluteth  you.     Erastus,  the  chamberlain  of  the  city,  and 
Quartus,  a  brother,  salute  you. 

The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you  all.     Amen.       24 
Now  unto  him  who  is  able  to  establish  you  according  to  my  25 
Gospel  and  the  preaching  of  Jesus  Christ,  according  to  the  reve- 
lation of  the  secret,  kept  hidden  in  ancient  times,  but  which  is  now  26 
manifested,  and  by  the  prophetic  Scriptures,  according  to  the  com- 
mandment of  the  everlasting  God,  is  made  known  to  all  nations  for 
the  obedience  9f  faith,  —  to  the  only  wise  God  be  glory  through  27 
Jesus  Christ  for  ever.     Amen. 


THE    END. 


7713C6     gOC  J 


BS2665.L784 

The  Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Romans  :  with 

^Pri_ncetonJheological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00068  0142 


